


Endeavor

by matrixaffiliate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/M, Fluff, Harry Potter Next Generation, Romance, Tedoire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 63,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25508038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matrixaffiliate/pseuds/matrixaffiliate
Summary: Teddy Lupin just wants a job that is even remotely related to his shiny new marketing degree. But when Harry helps him find a job with Ron's bakery empire, Ted isn't prepared for his new coworker - the niece of the CEO - to change everything.
Relationships: Fleur Delacour/Bill Weasley, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Peter Petigrew/OC, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley
Comments: 49
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Starting another long one friends, because I have zero chill right now. I hope you enjoy it! The next chapter will go up on August 1. =)

Teddy shook his head and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

"Everything alright, love?" His mum passed the potatoes to him.

"No, but I'll figure it out." Teddy took the potatoes before passing them to his dad.

"What was on your phone that has you upset?" His dad set down the bowl and then picked up his fork.

Teddy sighed, "Just another rejection email."

Teddy had been done with university for three months now and been applying for jobs for longer. But with no marketing experience, no one was taking a second look at him. He'd hoped to be able to quit the two jobs he'd been working through school by now and just have one job doing what he enjoyed.

His parents shared a long look and Teddy tried to ignore it.

"What if you put the word out that you're looking for something?" His dad asked. "You could send an email to everyone, your grandparents, James and Lily, Sirius and Marlene, Peter and Bridget, and Harry and Ginny know a lot of people too. Maybe reach out, see what anyone can point you towards."

Teddy looked down at his plate. He hated the idea of broadcasting to everyone what Teddy was hoping was just a run of bad luck. These people were his family and here he'd be coming to them showing how he couldn't even handle finding a job on his own.

"It's worth a try dear," his mum put a hand on his arm.

Teddy looked up at his mum, bubblegum pink hair freshly dyed. He realized he probably needed to touch up his hair. But his mum gave his arm a squeeze and Teddy nodded.

"Alright, I'll email them before I leave, let you two read through it and make sure it's good enough."

His mum leaned over and kissed his cheek, quickly catching his glass of water before she knocked it over. "You'll see, someone will have something that can help."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Teddy woke up the next morning to the sound of his roommate's 'morning music' playlist playing and sighed. He liked Kalil a lot, they'd ended up in this flat together when they were in their second year at university, and Teddy couldn't have asked for a better roommate. But did Kalil really have to play a music playlist for _everything_? Especially at half six in the morning?

Knowing he wouldn't be falling back asleep until he needed to be up at seven, Ted grabbed his phone and started swiping through the random notifications that had come in the night. He paused at a reply to his 'cry for help' email the night before.

It was from Harry.

Teddy opened it, trying not to hope for too much. His godfather had never failed him before, and Ted really didn't want it to start here.

**Hey Ted,**

**Thought I'd let you know that Gin's brother is hiring at his place, and if you're interested, I'll take you there myself and put in the good word for you. Just let me know what works for you. Here's the link.**

**Take care,**

**Harry**

Harry's response was the only one, and since Ted was up early anyway, he opened the link.

Ginny's brother Ron was hiring a new salesman, which isn't what Ted was hoping for. His degree was in marketing, not sales, and he didn't like tracking down customers, let alone schmoozing them into buying...industrial kitchen equipment apparently.

Ted closed the listing page and decided he might as well get an early start on his day.

However, Teddy's early start might have been a mistake. While stocking at his first job, one of the pallets he was moving bumped into a pallet stocked with glass bottles of imported maple syrup and broke at least a quarter of them. The cost would be coming out of his next paycheck, which meant most of his paycheck was gone. And he had to spend the majority of his shift cleaning up that mess.

From there he went to his servers' job and spent the night having every grumpy and unhappy person in England show up to simply sit and tell him what a horrible server he was. Ted made it home and collapsed on the sofa next to Kalil.

"Rough day then?" Kalil typed on his laptop.

"Brilliant," Ted huffed, "And yours?"

Kalil grinned over at him. "Got called for a second interview."

"That's fantastic," Ted forced himself to smile, "Really, mate, I'm happy for you."

"You'll get something, Lupin." Kalil shoved his shoulder, "Don't stress it."

Teddy willed his smile to stay in place and nodded. "Thanks, I'm going to go shower, stop smelling like low-grade Italian food."

Kalil nodded him on and went back to his computer. Ted moved to his room and pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was a text from his mum.

**Mum: Did anyone respond to your email?**

Teddy tossed his phone on his unmade bed. Was he being too picky? Wouldn't any job closer to marketing be an improvement over two jobs that he hated? At least a sales position would give him the "experience" that all these marketing positions he was applying for wanted. The worst that could happen is that he went from two lower-paying jobs that he dreaded to one job that paid a little more and maybe gave him some freedom to do something more than work day in and day out. Maybe he'd have time for a dating life.

Ted fell on his bed and grabbed his phone, opening the email from Harry.

What could it hurt?

**Hey Harry,**

**Thx for getting back to me. Do you think tomorrow at half two would work? I get out of the warehouse at 2.**

**Ted**

He texted his mum back that Harry was going to try and help him, and then he went to shower. When he got back to his room, now smelling less awful, he had a text from Harry.

**Harry: I've confirmed with Ron. We're set for tomorrow at 2:30.**

Teddy clicked on the address that Harry sent with his response and figured out how he wanted to get there from the warehouse. It would be close, but he'd probably make it in time.

**Ted: Should I bring a resume or anything?**

Teddy hit send and looked over at his cheap printer. He probably had enough ink in his printer to print one more, maybe.

**Harry: Nah, just throw a copy on your phone so you can email it to him if he asks to see it.**

Teddy looked over the copy he already had on his phone and decided it would have to be enough. He was exhausted and now he had a job interview tomorrow. He plugged in his phone and climbed into bed, Kalil's "chill playlist" playing quietly down the hall.

0o0o0o0o0o0

He didn't bring clothes to change into. Ted had meant to. He'd set them out so he'd remember. But Ted woke up late, and in his rush to make it to work on time, he'd forgotten to grab his button-up shirt and slacks and loafers. He'd be having this interview in his warehouse jumpsuit.

Brilliant.

"Ted!"

Teddy turned to find Harry waving him over to an open door.

"Hey, Harry," Ted smiled and embraced his godfather. "How are the kids?"

"Jamie and Al are causing trouble, and Lily gets a good laugh out of it all, so they're about the same."

Teddy grinned. "If I can get a job that doesn't require me working the dinner shift, I'll have to take them out for ice cream or something."

Harry opened the door wider and gestured Ted inside, "Let's see if we can't rid you of that dinner shift."

Teddy swallowed and stepped inside in the office building.

He'd met Ron a few times before. He knew that Ron had been at Harry and Ginny's wedding, but that was a long time ago and Ted had been four, or maybe he was five, he didn't remember. And Ron and his family had been at a few of the parties the Potters had hosted. But Teddy had never actually interacted with Ron more than to smile and say hello.

Now Teddy wished he'd taken more interest in his godmother's brother.

Ron stepped out of one of the offices and held out his hand.

"Ted! It's great to see you. I understand we might be able to help each other."

Ted smiled and shook his hand. "I'd like to hope so."

Harry clasped Ted on the shoulder. "Ted's looking to broaden his horizons."

"Come on in," Ron ushered them in.

Ted stepped in and took a look around. It was a small office, there wasn't a reception area, just two desks set up that faced the only, rather large, window, what looked like a supply closet on one end, and a bathroom on the other. There was also a small sink next to a fridge in the far-left corner, where a microwave sat on a card table and two folding chairs were tucked neatly against it.

Maybe this job wouldn't pay more than his current jobs…

"We're a small operation," Ron pulled a desk chair over to the card table and gestured to him and Harry to sit down in the folding chairs. "I don't know if you remember, Ted, but I own _Bread & Butter_, the cafe and bakery chain."

Ted nodded Ron on, but he honestly didn't remember that at all.

"And I realized a couple of years ago that a lot of the machines I was buying for our locations were expensive and subpar. So, I started looking for something better, and I finally worked with one of my favorite manufacturers to come up with something that worked the way I wanted it to. We saw an immediate improvement in our products at _Bread & Butter_ and I arranged with the manufacturer to sell what we'd developed as the _Bread & Butter_ line of industrial kitchen equipment."

"How is that going?" Teddy looked around again and Ron chuckled.

"It's going well, but it could be going better. I've been our main salesman, but I'm swamped with the bakery itself and coming up with new menu items and honestly, I'm not cut out for sales. I'm too attached to our line, and I need someone who can step in and take over sales. This little operation is simply a department of _Bread & Butter_ but I've rented out this office space for it because we don't have space for it at the main bakery offices."

Teddy's mind started working very fast. "So, if I did well for you, there could be an opportunity to do more with _Bread & Butter_?"

"You mean like transfer to the marketing department?" Ron grinned, "Harry mentioned your degree is in marketing, but yes, I think that if I needed to expand or replace someone in marketing, I'd be more willing to move you over to the main building than hire someone new."

Teddy grinned back, "Alright, Ron, I think I'm interested.

The interview became a job training on the spot and Ted was almost ready to skive-off his dinner shift in exchange for spending more time working with Ron, but he needed to give his notice and he really should leave those jobs on good terms; they'd supported him through his years at university after all.

Ron clicked a few things on his phone as they finished up. "So, you'll be ready to start in one week then?"

Ted nodded, "Yeah, I'm only required to give the minimum with both of these jobs."

"Think you could stop by the main office in between your shifts this week and fill out the hiring forms?"

Teddy pulled out his phone to see his shift schedules. "Sure thing, boss."

"Great, I'll let you get to your dinner shift. And I'll let my niece know she can expect to have you here next week as well; she's off at a dental appointment this afternoon or you'd have met her today. She handles our website and coordinates deliveries." Ron stood up and shook Teddy's hand. "I'm looking forward to passing this all off to you."

Teddy laughed, "I'm looking forward to having just one job."

Harry followed him out of the building and hugged him. "Are you happy about this?"

"You know, I am," Ted felt a smile on his face. "This feels like the first step forward, you know? Thank you for setting this up for me. I keep forgetting that you never steer me wrong."

"You can take the kids out for ice cream or something to show your gratitude," Harry razzed him. "They miss you."

"The first paycheck I get from Ron will go to taking them out for some fun," Teddy promised.

"Good, now go serve people bad Italian food."

The dinner rush was intense, but after giving his notice, Teddy wasn't bothered by it in the slightest. There was finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Teddy slung his backpack over his shoulder and stepped into the office building, his new job, maybe a career, lay just down the corridor.

He stood a little straighter and walked down to the door, inserting his key to unlock it, only to have it push open to the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. She had blonde hair pinned up off her shoulders, revealing her porcelain skin along her neck and face. Ted thought he was floored at her profile, but then she turned to smile at him and her blue eyes froze him in place; he forgot how to breathe.

"Hi, you must be Ted, I'm Vic. I guess we're sharing the office now."

Ted blinked. He couldn't seem to get his brain to function.

"Er, right, yeah, I'm Ted." He almost grimaced at his response. "It's nice to meet you."

"I got here early to clear up Uncle Ron's desk for you. He left a bunch of things that he thought you'd need but I promise you won't." She closed a word document before standing up and offering her hand.

Teddy remembered how to human and moved into the office, sliding his keys back into his pocket, and shook Vic's hand. Her skin was amazingly soft and Ted immediately wanted to pull her back when she released this hand.

"I like the color." She smiled up at him.

"The color…?" Ted blinked.

Vic laughed, "Your hair, I like the turquoise."

Teddy felt like an idiot. "Oh! Right, er, thanks, my mum has hers pink."

Could he be any lamer right now?

"Wow! My mum would never dye her hair, and she'd probably have a heart attack if I dyed mine." Vic laughed and sat down at her desk.

Teddy followed suit, realizing that he had no idea what to do.

"Uncle Ron is supposed to be here at half eight to help get you set up, then you'll spend the day handing off all our customers, and get back here hopefully in time to clock out at five."

"Do we have a time clock?" Teddy looked around. He'd had to stamp in and out at both his warehouse job and his server job, but he hadn't expected it here.

Vic laughed at him, "You're joking right?"

Ted hoped he wasn't blushing and tried to own it.

"Oh no, I expect an establishment as posh as this one to give me an antique time stamp machine for me to put my time card into every day before having me descend into the coal mines of selling industrial kitchen mixers."

Vic laughed before grabbing a piece of paper from her desk drawer and a black marker.

"Antique Posh Time Stamp Machine," she said as she wrote it out on the paper. "There," she held it up for him. "Where would you like it to be?"

Teddy grinned; this was going to be the best job in the world.

"Oh, it can only be at the far end of the office. It has to be as far away from where the actual work gets done as possible or it isn't posh at all."

Vic snagged a few thumbtacks from her drawer and moved to where the supply closet was in the back corner before pinning the sign up on the wall next to the door.

"How's that?"

Ted smiled. "It's perfect."

Vic smiled and looked down at her hands for a moment before moving back to her desk.

"Ted!"

Teddy turned to see Ron walking into the office.

"Morning, boss," Ted tried to ignore the part of him that resented Ron for barging in on what felt like something special between him and Vic. He'd known the woman for less than five minutes. He had to get a grip.

"Hi, Uncle Ron, I thought you weren't going to be here for another half-hour or so."

"I had my first meeting rescheduled, so I'm here to get a head start with Ted. Vicky, Ted is Harry's godson, you might have met at one of their parties."

"You know Harry?" Teddy turned to look at Vic.

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, my dad is Aunt Ginny's oldest brother."

Ted blinked, she looked nothing like a Weasley. When Ron had said that his niece worked here, and then when Ted saw her, he assumed she must be a niece in the same way James, Sirius, and Peter were his Uncles.

"Well now that we know how we're all connected, Ted, I've got most of my clients ready to meet with us so I can pass them off to you this morning. Ready to go?" Ron spun his keys around his fingers.

Teddy looked back at Vic for a brief moment before nodding to Ron, "Let's get this show on the road."

Getting the clients handed off took the majority of the day, but Teddy loved it. Ron made a point of also taking Ted to the main office and introducing him to the teams there. Ted had learned about networking in several classes, but Ron showed him how it was really done. Everyone loved Ron, and Teddy honestly believed that Ron cared about everyone he introduced him to.

With how well the day had gone, as he walked back into his office building with Ron, Ted couldn't wait to see Vic again.

That is until Ron opened the door.

Vic was kissing another man.

"Vicky," Ron sighed, "please remember this is an office. I know you enjoy having Sean come pick you up, but HR would throw a fit if they knew you were snogging him on the clock."

Victoire blushed furiously and the man that stood next to her grinned. His black hair was cut short and he had his sunglasses on backward.

"Don't worry, Ron, I'm not scared of HR."

Ron raised an eyebrow at the man, "You should be, they can make me fire her."

Sean turned back to Vic, "I'll wait in the car."

He winked at Ron and Ted as he left.

Ted hated Sean.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Ron. I know we shouldn't have been kissing in here. He came to surprise me and I'd mentioned you were out showing Ted around and he took that to mean the rules were off." She trailed off and bit her lip.

"Vicky, I love you" Ron sighed, "but just, think about what your parents would say if you lost your job because of Sean."

Ted moved to his desk, not trusting himself to speak. Ron seemed to take the excuse to move on to a different topic when Ted powered on his laptop.

"I've emailed you the leads I was working on before I hired you, Ted."

"Oh, excellent," Ted nodded as he followed the log-in instructions IT had left him with his laptop and dock set up. "I'll start on them tomorrow then."

"Perfect, and if you ever need anything, just give me a call. I'm not here at the office with you, but I'm always here if you need my help with any of this. I'm looking forward to growing this division and I'd love to see you pioneer it."

Ted smiled at Ron and he leaned back in his desk chair. "Thanks, Ron, I hope I can do you proud here."

"I'm sure you will." Ron grinned at him before looking behind him at Vic. He sighed and motioned towards the door. "Victoire, can I talk to you out in the hall?"

Victoire nodded and began to follow Ron to the door. She paused before turning back around. She closed a word document on her computer and shut it down before grabbing her purse. She gave Ted a small smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Right, tomorrow," her smile seemed to pull a smile out of him.

"Right," she bit her lip and then turned around to follow after Ron.

Teddy let out a long breath as the door closed behind Vic.

He was so screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 goes up on August 8. =)

Ted walked into the office the next morning and went right to the sign that Vic had made the day before. He had scoured the internet to find out what these old machines sounded like and did his best to imitate the noises he'd heard on different obscure YouTube videos as he mimicked stamping his time card. Vic laughed at her desk while he did so.

"Good morning," He grinned at her as he sat in his desk chair. "Did you clock in?"

"Oh yes," Vic nodded seriously, "I want to make sure I keep this job. It's helping to support my family until they find me a good husband."

Ted pushed down the question of whether or not Sean was in the running for her husband and the question of if Sean was worried about helping her keep her job.

"What a noble thing to do, so selfless of you." He grinned when she laughed. He really liked the sound of her laugh.

"So how was running around with Uncle Ron all day yesterday?"

Ted smirked, "Brutal, the hazing here is intense. I don't know how you put up with it."

Vic shook her head, "How else will we know if you're up to working here?"

Ted laughed, "See this is how I know that working here is the right move. I like a group that doesn't mess around, no-nonsense, nose to the grindstone, that's how I like it."

Vic laughed, "I can tell. I don't think there's a bone in your body that knows how to joke around."

"Not a one," Ted shrugged, "some people think it's a waste, but I think they're just jealous."

Vic laughed before her phone rang and she composed herself to answer it.

Ted took advantage of the moment to get his laptop turned on and start unloading the few things he brought for his desk. He'd just started to look through the new potential clients that Ron had been wanting to reach out to when Vic's voice spoke up.

"A wolf figurine?" She picked up the wolf his mum had given him when he finished A-Levels.

Ted gave a nervous laugh, "Er, do you know my last name?"

She bit her lip, "No, does that make me a bad coworker?"

Ted shook his head but he couldn't keep from smiling. "You know if I answer that honestly, I'm only going to make you feel bad."

"Do you even know my last name?" Vic crossed her arms over her chest, still holding the wolf.

Ted smirked, "Why yes, Weasley, I do."

Vic blushed and then laughed, "Fine, I'm an awful person, now what's your last name?"

"You think I'll let you off the hook that easily, Weasley?" Ted grinned. "You underestimate me."

"Oh, come on, I admitted to being awful." She kicked his foot.

"And I admire your honesty." Ted held out his hand for his wolf figurine.

Vic smirked. "I think I'll hold on to this, at least until I guess your last name."

Teddy briefly considered fighting her for it, but he smiled when she rubbed her hand over it like it was a puppy she was petting.

"Sure, hold on to it."

She blinked and bit her lip before smiling, "Thanks, I'll give it back once I figure out your last name."

Ted shrugged and grabbed his phone to call the first company on Ron's list. "I won't hold my breath."

Vic went to argue with him, but Teddy held up his hand and responded to the receptionist that had answered his call.

Her playful glare put a smile on his face for the rest of the calls he had to make.

"Did you bring lunch?" Vic asked as she moved to the fridge.

Ted looked up at the clock and raised his eyebrows. Was it really already one o'clock?

"Er, yeah, I did," Ted pulled his backpack to him.

Vic moved to the card table as Ted sat at his desk and pulled out his sandwich.

"You're going to eat at your desk?"

Ted looked up at her, "Yep."

"Well, this will be an awkward lunch hour. I'm practically shouting at you from over here."

Ted smirked, "Yeah, really awkward."

Vic pulled her drink to her lips and Teddy felt his smirk morphing into a smile. She had something about her, something that kept pulling him in even when his brain kept telling him to back off. Honestly, he needed to stop, she was snogging a guy in the office when he wasn't there. But try as he might, Ted couldn't stop himself. Vic was pulling him in and he couldn't, or maybe he wouldn't stop her.

"Well, what shall we shout about?"

"Do you normally shout with the men in your life?"

"Only when they insist on sitting fifty feet away from me."

"Fifty feet? This office is barely twenty feet across." Ted laughed.

Vic ignored him, "No one likes a cleverclogs, Ted."

He laughed loudly at that one, "Fine, I don't normally care for shouting at the women in my life, but if you insist on eating all the way over there, I can make a special exception for you."

"You're ridiculous," Vic laughed and went to say more when her cell phone rang.

She looked torn as she looked at the screen before mouthing sorry to him and swiping to answer.

"Hi, Sean."

Ted turned to look out the window and tried to push away the annoyance he felt. It would make sense her boyfriend would call over her lunch hour. He tried to tune her out and focus on the cars driving past the office building, but the catch in her voice as she spoke again completely threw that idea out the window.

"Oh, are you sure you can't do that another night?"

Ted focused on chewing his food to keep from turning to look at her.

"No, I understand, just, we planned this out last month."

It was involuntary. Ted glanced her way and saw one of the most dejected looks he'd ever seen, including when Lily was two-years-old and didn't get a second scoop of ice cream.

"Alright, but I'll see you tonight?"

Ted looked back out the window and took a long drink from his water bottle.

"Oh, right, well, text me then."

It wasn't his business, but Ted couldn't help but feel like taking it to blows with Sean. How dare he treat this amazing woman like someone he could blow off?

"Right. Bye."

Ted finally allowed himself to turn his office chair back to face Vic and found her gripping her phone tightly between her hands.

"Everything alright?"

Vic took a deep breath and nodded, "Yeah, just, just plans changing and I've always been a little frustrated when that happens."

"Must be something big to cancel plans that have been set out for a month."

Vic swallowed hard and took a bite of her sandwich. Ted took the hint and moved the conversation forward.

"Well, while you were rudely interrupting our shouting match, I thought we might start shouting about how insane it is that Ron couldn't find space for two more desks at the main office."

Vic grinned. "You're more observant than most. I have two theories on that one."

"Wait!" Ted held up his hand as he set down his sandwich. "We have to make sure that he hasn't bugged the office to spy on us."

He started inspecting the ceiling and the floors, Vic's laughter echoing in the small space. Ted opened the supply closet and the bathroom and the fridge and the microwave before deciding he'd played the part well enough and went back to his desk.

"Alright, I think the coast is clear. Now, what are your theories?"

Vic grinned, "Well, my first theory is that he's protective of me, and doesn't want me involved with all the politicking that happens at the main office. But my second theory is that he doesn't want this to keep being a part of _Bread & Butter_. I think he's prepping this so that it could become its own operation. And that transition goes much smoother if the people who work here haven't been involved with _Bread & Butter_ at all. I mean, aside from meeting everyone at the main office, did you get contact information? Sure, we could find them over the company system, but we don't do anything that involves them at all. Uncle Ron even hires a different company to deliver for our department than the rest of the company."

Teddy felt his eyes go huge. "Vic you're brilliant!"

Vic blushed, "Well, that's just my speculation…"

"No!" Teddy shook his head, "You're a genius, really, and that's going to completely change the game!"

Ted snagged his notebook and pen and started jotting down notes.

"What are you on about?" Vic moved back to her desk chair and rolled it to his desk.

"Vic, my degree is in marketing, not sales, but your uncle hired me basically on the spot. He's got you running a website and coordinating deliveries. But he's completely cut us off from the rest of _Bread & Butter_. He told me that he wanted to see me pioneer this division. Vic, we're building a company! And I know how to market that! My job title says Salesman, but I'm sitting on the precipice of being the Chief Marketing Officer. If I can show Ron what I can do to increase my sales, if you and I can grow this into something big, Vic we could be the C-staff of this gig!"

Vic stared at him for a long moment before rolling back to her desk and grabbing a notepad and pen.

"So, what do we do?"

"Why did Ron hire you?" Ted pushed back in his chair.

Vic looked down, "Because I needed a job."

"No," Teddy shook his head, "I will put a thousand pounds down that he did not pity hire you. Did you go to university or any sort of training after A-levels?"

Vic shrugged, "I went to uni, but my degree is in communications, how does that help here?"

Ted looked out the window and thought about it, trying to connect the dots. What did Ron have in store for Vic? Then it hit him.

"You're pretty close with Ron?"

Vic smiled, "I'm his and Aunt Hermione's go-to sitter for Rose and Hugo. And growing up they were always my favorite to play with at family gatherings."

"You're Ron's pick for Chief Operating Officer," Ted scribbled down in his notebook again. "He knows he can trust you to handle anything he throws at you. Did you know anything about managing a website before this?"

Vic shrugged, "No, but it wasn't hard to learn. I watched a load of online courses and I've been able to keep it going pretty well after that."

Ted grinned, "We're building this company up Vic, and we didn't even have to do the hard part, we get to jump into the fun and make this happen!"

"Ted," Vic bit her lip, "I was just speculating. I have no idea if I'm right."

Ted shook his head. "But it doesn't matter if you're right or not. Don't you see Vic? Even if this isn't Ron's intention, we can make this his intention. We can make this big enough to be its own company."

Vic shook her head. "Ted, I don't know the first thing about running a company or even what a chief operating officer is."

Ted looked at the clock, it was nearly two and he had a phone meeting scheduled with a client. "What are you doing after work? We can plan this out, I can teach you what we're working towards, give you the vision of where we're heading."

Vic looked at her cell phone for a moment and licked her lips.

Ted guessed she was thinking about Sean. "This would just be work, Vic, we'll even stay here at the office."

"Right," she kept looking at her black phone screen. "Right, ok, I'm free tonight."

"Perfect," Ted tried to ignore the way his heart beat faster. "We'll order some dinner and then we can start mapping this out, make ourselves a plan."

She smiled and looked back at him, "Sounds great."

Ted would have sworn that all of their clients were talking in slow motion as he had his phone meetings throughout the rest of the day. But finally, five rolled around and Teddy felt like he'd won the lottery.

This wasn't a date; he reprimanded his stupid heart. This was a business planning meeting with dinner involved. This wasn't a date.

"What are you in the mood for?" Vic scrolled through the options on her computer.

"I'm not picky, my family has always been pretty adventurous when it comes to food."

"Oh, there's an Indian place the next street over, how does that sound?"

Ted grinned, "Sounds good, but I doubt they'll do as well as my Uncle James."

"Uncle Harry's dad?"

Ted nodded. "Hands down he could out cook the majority of the Indian restaurants in London."

"I'll have to try that sometime then. But what do you want from here?"

They placed their orders and when it came time to enter the payment, Ted pushed her chair so it rolled across the room and quickly typed in his card info and paid.

"I have cash, I can pay you my share." Vic shoved her chair at him.

"How are you going to get me to take your cash? You don't even know my last name." Ted sat back down in his chair and grinned.

"I could stick it in your shirt pocket." She grabbed her purse out of her desk and started counting out the correct number of bills.

"I'll throw it back at you. I'm not the sort of bloke to throw money at women, but when it's her own money I'll make a special exception." Ted put his hands behind his head and leant back in his chair and smirked.

"Here," she stood and slipped the small wad of bills into his shirt pocket.

Ted almost shivered at her touch, but just as soon as she pulled her hand away, he grabbed the money and threw it back at her.

"You're not paying me back."

Vic picked up the money from the floor. "Come on, aren't we supposed to be coworkers?"

"I don't use bills," Ted shrugged, "I'd probably just lose them. It's a waste of your money to pay me back."

"Really, Ted, you can't just go buying me dinner."

"Of course, I can, you don't know my last name, I can get away with almost anything right now," Ted smirked at her.

"You know, all I have to do is find you on the company roster and I'd know your last name."

"Do you know my first name?" Ted kicked his feet out in front of him.

"No, I'm just calling you Ted because it felt right."

Teddy ignored the way his heart beat harder at her wording.

"Ted is a shortened version of my name, and there happens to be more than one name that shortens to Ted." He smirked at her. "The company roster has my full proper name, Weasley."

Vic narrowed her eyes at him. "I could always call Aunt Ginny."

Ted shrugged, "You could, I don't think you will, but you could. She is my godmother, after all, she would definitely want to know _why_ you want to know my full name."

Vic bit her lip. "If I knew your full name would you take the money?"

"Nope," Teddy grinned at the groan Vic let out.

"You are absolutely impossible!"

"Infuriating isn't it? You should meet the men who taught me how to do this."

"You mean there are men out there who teach you to be awful?" Vic kicked half-heartedly at his feet still stretched out near her chair.

"Oh yes, they taught me all of the awful things, like paying for dinner and holding doors open and being kind and saying please and thank you and asking for consent and all the other things that turn you into a right scoundrel."

Vic chuckled, "Sound like a group of tossers."

Ted smiled; the Marauders had their moments.

"They're the best men I know."

"I'd like to meet them someday."

Her voice had a softer quality to it and Ted felt his heart caving into the sound of it combined with the little smile that touched her lips.

"So, keep your money," Ted tried to bring the joking back as he cleared his throat. "Because those same men will kick my arse if you don't."

"That I might pay to see." Vic laughed and put her foot out to tap his.

"So cruel," Ted shook his head.

Then their dinner arrived and Ted was grateful for the interruption. He was quickly finding himself falling fast with Vic and he didn't want to stop himself. This woman was everything he'd ever looked for and he just felt in sync with her. It was easy, too easy. So easy that he was already having to stop himself from reaching out to touch her. She wasn't his. She had a boyfriend. He needed to back off. He needed to stop.

But he didn't. He justified it by telling himself that this opportunity to grow their division into its own operation was too good to pass up. And Vic deserved this. She deserved to see how far she could go. To see that Ron trusted her more than she probably understood. And if he could give her that, well, it would be worth holding himself back, mostly.

"Alright, I'm going to have to roll myself out of here." Vic moved what was left of her food to the fridge. "Let's get started and you can teach me all those things I need to know to help run a start-up."

Ted grinned and put the rest of his food in the fridge with hers.

"Good idea, the sooner we start the better, you don't want to be driving home in the dark." Ted teased.

Vic blushed, "Well, I go home to my parents' so I'd prefer it after dark. Then most everyone is asleep."

"Alright then, I'll make sure to go into great depth and detail to make sure you aren't leaving here until well after sunset. Then you can pretend you bought your childhood home and live alone with your cat."

Vic scoffed, "Do I look like a woman who would own a cat?"

Ted nodded, "Oh yes, you have the crazy cat lady vibe going for you."

Vic threw a napkin at him, "I hate you."

"How can you hate me? You've known me for less than 72 hours." Ted threw the napkin back at her.

"You just called me a crazy cat lady!"

"No, I said you had the vibe for it," Ted kicked her foot from under the card table. "I'm sure you'll not end up alone without anyone to fill the companionship void but a cat."

"You don't like cats?" Vic kicked his foot back.

"Cats are alright, but I'm not much of a pet person. I like Uncle Sirius' dog well enough, but pets seem like a lot of work for a lot of feedback that doesn't appeal to me. I don't find joy in sitting with a dog or a cat. And I don't really like watching anything you'd keep in an atrium."

"Do you want kids then? Or are they like pets?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ted laughed. "Having kids is completely different than having pets. Kids are little humans that you get to help grow and here's the best part, kids ultimately can handle their bowel movements without any help from me."

Vic's laughter came bursting out of her and Ted couldn't help but admire the way she looked so happy.

"But, yeah, I'm looking forward to being a dad." He rubbed the back of his neck to keep his hand from reaching across the table for her.

Vic's smile went just a touch sad and Ted frowned.

"Hey, you alright?"

She sighed, "Yeah, just wish more blokes were like you."

Ted's heart flipped in his chest.

"But that's neither here nor there," Vic pulled her notepad to her. "Let's get down to business."

Ted blinked, "Er, right."

Ted moved to retrieve his notebook and felt a small smile tug at his lips. Because Vic said she wished more guys were like him, and Ted hoped the underlying message was she wished Sean were like him. Or maybe that he was in Sean's place.

He was so screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter goes up on August 15th. =)

"I swear, Lupin, you work more now that you have this job than you did when we were taking a full semester and you were working two jobs." Kalil sat down at the kitchen table where Ted had laid out his old school notes to try and come up with a clearer direction forward for what he had spent the last week coming to think of as his company.

"It is not that bad, Ghanem," Ted laughed. "I've got a good chance here to build this into the launching pad of my career. But I've got to get Vic up to speed too, so I'm also teaching her business classes after work."

Kalil sat down at the table, "Now when you first said your coworker's name was Vic, I thought their name was Victor. But you keep referring to them in the feminine connotation."

Ted laughed, "Vic is short for the French name Victoire."

"And, she needs some personal tutoring after work because…" Kalil smirked at him.

Ted shook his head, "It's not like that, mate."

"Really? Because you haven't been this willing to work outside of your shift in the three years that we've been friends."

Ted looked back at one of his books. "Yeah, well she has a boyfriend."

"Wait, she's taken?"

"Yep." Ted huffed.

"She says she's taken or you know she's taken?"

Ted looked up to glare at his friend, "My second interaction with her was walking in on her snogging the bloke, so yes, she's taken."

Kalil raised his eyebrows. "And you're not happy about this."

Ted sighed. "Sorry, she's pretty amazing and it's just frustrating to meet a girl that I could see myself with, and for her to be in a relationship."

"Well, if she's taken, she's taken, mate," Kalil put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should protect yourself a bit here, back off on the time you spend with her, like only being with her during office hours."

Ted nodded, "Yeah, I'll think about it."

Kalil moved his hand away and shook his head as he walked back down the hall to his room.

"Don't be that guy Ted." He called out.

Teddy didn't respond. He needed to get this business figured out and then he needed to head out to get some shopping done before he went to his parents' place. They'd been excited to have him over on a Saturday. Ted hadn't had a free Saturday evening in years.

And honestly, he had already realized he was that guy. Ted was flirting and looking for every stolen moment he could get with a girl that wasn't available. If he were in Sean's position, he'd probably want to pummel him.

But Sean wasn't treating Vic like he really cared. Vic had disclosed that Sean canceled a day trip to the White Cliffs for the chance to compete in a pub quiz league. He was so certain he and his mates would win that he decided it was worth canceling the trip, and he was vague with her when it came to rescheduling it.

Ted wanted to pummel the idiot.

That was obviously not an option, and so Ted settled for teaching her business after work a couple of nights a week as they ate dinner and goofing around during the workday. Ted lived for those stolen moments; those moments where he felt like it was them, no unnecessary significant others involved.

Maybe he'd get her to teach him to speak French. He took a few classes in before uni, maybe he could get her to spend a little longer with him in the evenings teaching him something after he taught her business.

A part of Teddy wanted to cuff himself upside the head, but the more time he spent with Vic, the easier it was to ignore that part of him. He had set some physical boundaries for himself, and that made Ted feel like he wasn't really crossing any lines. He was making friends with Vic, taking an interest in her life outside of work, and spending time with her. That's what friends did. He was her friend. That was it.

And if he took advantage of those moments to feel closer to her than he should, well, that was for him and no one else to know about.

OoOoOoOoO

"So, you're liking working with Ron?" His dad asked as he handed Ted a drink and set the pitcher down on the table in their back garden.

"I don't work much with Ron. Between me and his niece, we run this operation on our own." Ted sat back in his chair and sighed contentedly. He liked having evenings off. He'd forgotten what it was like to be able to decompress before half eleven, let alone have a Saturday to himself.

"It's just the two of you?" His mum set some cheese and crackers down on the table.

"Unless we need the big boss, yeah," Ted nodded.

"Which niece of his are you working with?" His dad pulled the cheese tray a bit closer to him.

Ted smiled, "Victoire, his oldest niece. She's Bill and Fleur's daughter if that helps you place her."

His mum laughed. "I know Bill, she must be a firecracker. He fancied himself a rebel, pierced his ear and grew his hair out long; he even bought a motorcycle. Made his mum furious as I understand it."

"How did you know Bill?" Ted tried to not look too interested.

"He and I went to A-levels together," his mum swatted a fly away and nearly upturned the cheese tray but just missed it. "It was happenstance that Harry and Ron and Ginny ended up in school together as well."

"To be fair, it was also happenstance that you and I met." His dad took her hand and kissed it.

Ted sighed. It felt like he would never get to the point his parents were at.

"Everything alright, son?" His dad turned to look at him.

"Yeah," Ted forced a smile, "It's just been a long week getting everything settled at work. And I really think Ron has a second company brewing with this, so I'm trying to get things rolling to show him that this could stand on its own feet. It doesn't need _Bread & Butter_ to hold it up."

"Ron didn't build _Bread & Butter_ in a day, Teddy darling. Make sure to pace yourself." His mum's timer went off and she went to retrieve dinner.

Ted stayed quiet. He knew his mum was right, Ron had built his franchise up over the course of nearly fifteen years. But this didn't need the same kind of organic growth that a bakery chain needed. This was selling kitchen equipment, kitchen equipment branded with the name of a successful franchise across the UK. It just needed the push that Ted was willing to give it.

Plus, he got more time with Vic when he pushed this forward, so it was a win in more than one way.

"Do I get you next Saturday too?" His mum asked as she set dinner on the table.

Ted laughed, "No, I promised Harry I'd take the kids for ice cream to say thank you for getting me in touch with Ron."

"Give them a hug for me. I know they're James' and Lily's grandkids, but I think we all claim them as our own."

"Mum, I'm six years older than Jamie."

"It doesn't change that your dad and I are old enough to be their grandparents."

"I am, but you, my love, are most certainly not." His dad chuckled. "But I've always liked how much those three look up to you, Teddy."

Ted shrugged, he rather liked it too if he was honest.

OoOoOoOoO

"This was a low blow, Weasley," Ted shook his head as he ate his Chinese takeaway the following Friday.

"You left me with no choice. If I hadn't ordered beforehand then you would have paid for it again. I already owe you for five dinners."

"You hide your devious side behind that pretty face, you even knew my order."

Vic kicked him under the table, "Don't announce my secrets!"

Ted laughed, "So tell me, have you ordered the next five dinners as well?"

Vic grinned, "I'll let you sit in anticipation."

"So torturous," Ted grinned back at her and had to put a great deal of self-control into not reaching out to take her hand or run his foot along her calf.

"What are you doing with your weekend?" Vic asked as she pulled a dumpling from the box with her chopsticks.

Ted smirked, "Wondering what my plans are Weasley?"

"I'll tell you mine," Vic shrugged.

"Let me guess, you're going to go home and spend the weekend wishing you didn't live with your parents?" Ted teased.

"No, I'm going to figure out what your last name is." She smirked at him.

Ted tutted, "That would be a shame, my wolf looks rather nice on your desk. I've come to enjoy seeing him there."

Vic laughed and kicked his foot under the card table. "I am going to figure it out this weekend. Come Monday, I'll know more about you than you could imagine me learning in two days."

Ted raised his eyebrows at her. "I think you're bluffing."

Vic shrugged, "Good, that will make it that much better when you walk in on Monday and I call you by your full name."

"Oh, you think you'll find my middle name too huh? Yours isn't even listed on the company roster."

"Did you go looking for it?" Vic laughed.

"Of course, I did, I had to exploit every advantage available to me." Ted shrugged as Vic laughed.

"You're ridiculous you know." Vic's smile was soft again, it was that smile that made Ted's stomach flutter.

"One of my many faults."

Vic tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before letting out a long breath and tossed her takeaway container in the bin.

"We should get started," she pulled her notepad in front of her.

"Right," Ted moved to his desk for his notebook and the notes he'd prepared yesterday after work before rejoining Vic at the card table.

"Did everything from Wednesday make sense?"

But another voice responded.

"Wednesday?"

Ted turned to the open door where Sean stood.

"Sean," Vic's voice conveyed her surprise. "You said you had plans tonight."

"They fell through," he leant against the doorframe. "I decided I'd rescue you from working late."

"Oh, er," she looked at Ted with wide eyes and Ted forced a smile for her.

"Go on, your Casanova awaits."

Vic bit her lip and looked torn for a moment longer before nodding. "We can do this on Monday, right?"

"Sure, whenever," Ted put his notebook away in his backpack.

"Alright, I'll, I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah."

Ted didn't dare look up as Vic walked out. He didn't want to see Sean kiss her.

OoOoOoOoO

"Teddy!" Lily ran into his arms.

"Hey, sweetheart," Ted hugged her. "I swear you're taller every time I see you."

"Grandad says that's what happens when you feed kids. Mum and Dad left for their show already, but come on! I want you to meet my cousin! She's so cool!" Lily pulled him down the corridor.

Ted laughed and kicked off his shoes, expecting to see another twelve-year-old girl as Lily pulled him to the back garden.

He nearly tripped over himself when he crossed the threshold.

"Vic?"

"Ted?"

"What are you doing here?" They said in unison.

"Really? You already know her? I wanted to introduce you two." Lily pouted.

"I work with Vic, Lils." Ted squeezed Lily's shoulders.

"You do?" Al frowned, "But Vic works for Uncle Ron."

Ted chuckled, "And so do I."

Vic was blushing and Ted wondered why his showing up had this effect on her. She didn't blush when he walked into work.

"Ted!" Jamie grinned as he walked out to the back garden. "Dad said you weren't going to be here till five."

Ted grinned and pulled Jamie into a hug. "I thought I'd come a bit earlier to catch up, but I see you lot already have someone around."

"Oh, yeah, Vic this is Ted, he's Mum and Dad's godson." Jamie introduced them.

"They work together, Jamie," Lily rolled her eyes. "And if they hadn't, I would have already introduced them."

Jamie's brow creased for a moment. "Oh, right you both work for Uncle Ron, I remember Dad saying he set you up with the job."

Ted nodded, "Yep. So, I guess everyone knows everyone now."

"Right," Vic stood up, "I should probably let you four go to dinner."

"Can Vicky come?" Lily took hold of Teddy's hand and he tried to keep himself from looking down at her big brown eyes.

He failed, and then he caved.

"If you're free, Vic, you're welcome to join us."

"I don't want to impose," she bit her lip but Lily went straight to her side.

"You wouldn't be imposing, Vicky! Please come! We haven't seen you much at all since you got that boyfriend last year."

Ted rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his socks as Vic spoke.

"Alright, I can come for a little bit."

Ted looked up to see Vic smiling at him, that shy soft smile that made his stomach clench.

"Great," he smiled back at her, and suddenly the awkward way they'd left things the night before seemed to fade away.

"Grab your things, you lot," Ted turned to the Potter kids, "I'm thinking some fish and chips are in order tonight."

"Aye, aye captain!" Al saluted and the three of them went for their things.

"So…" Ted followed Vic as she went back inside the house.

"Hi," Vic moved to the front door and put her shoes back on. Ted followed suit.

"I guess maybe I should have told you my plans for the weekend, huh?" He chuckled.

"Well, this might have been less awkward that way." Vic bit her lip. "I really can just bow out if you want time with them."

Ted felt his whole body react in panic at that suggestion.

"No! I mean if this is weird for you then I get if you want to leave, but I mean, we're friends, right?"

Vic's face took on a relieved cast and she smiled again. "Yeah, yeah, we're friends."

"Alright, well, friends can grab dinner together, right?"

Vic grinned, "Definitely."

Ted took a deep breath and went to say more when the Potter kids came sliding into the front entry.

"Let's go beat the dinner rush," Jamie opened the door and ushered everyone outside.

"Jamie, you're sixteen, will you stop acting like you're the adult here. That's Ted and Vic's job." Lily rolled her eyes.

Jamie shot her a glare and Ted intervened in what was a pretty regular fight he'd seen between the two of them.

"It's normal for Jamie to care enough about you to want to help guide you Lils, and it's fine to not want him to as well, right Jamie?"

Jamie rolled his eyes, "Right."

"Is Vic riding shotgun?" Al asked. "Dad and Mum say that when there's another adult, the front seat always goes to them."

Ted unlocked his car and looked over at Vic. "That's completely up to Vic."

She bit her lip and looked down at her shoes for a moment before looking back up at him. "Sure, sure I'll sit up front."

"There you go, Al, your parents' are always right." Ted grinned, and let their little group think it was in response to Al's eye roll.

But in reality, he couldn't have stopped smiling if his life depended on it, because Vic was sitting shotgun in his car.

"So, Vic," Ted asked as he pulled out of the Potter's drive. "What brought you to my godparents' home tonight?"

Vic immediately blushed. But before Ted could ask further, Al answered.

"She said she had a question about Dad's family."

Ted felt his eyebrows shoot up. The Marauders were Harry's family, and that included him.

"Really?" Ted smirked at Vic, who turned to look out her window. "I could have answered any questions you might have had."

Vic shrugged. "I didn't have your number."

"What did you want to know?" Lily asked.

"Wait," Jamie leant forward. "I thought you wanted to know my thoughts on your rough draft of your book you sent me. That's what Mum told me when she mentioned you'd be coming over."

"Right, so it was that too, and, er…"

Vic's face was bright red now and Ted found it adorable. He also felt a bit guilty, so he gave her a way out.

"Pull out your phone, I'll tell you my number." Ted smiled over at her.

She mouthed thank you and pulled out her phone. Ted rattled off his phone number and then got Al and Jamie talking about the latest Zelda game for the rest of the car ride to the restaurant.

"I can buy my own dinner," Vic protested when they were waiting their turn to order.

Ted rolled his eyes at her, "I'm sure you can, but if Harry finds out you bought your own dinner, he'll have my head, and then he'll send the rest of our family after me, so just do me the favor and let me pay for everyone."

Vic glared at him, so Ted played dirty.

"I gave you my phone number." He ignored the way Jamie eyed him.

Vic huffed and then nodded, "Fine, you can buy my dinner."

Jamie looked back and forth between the two of them. "It's not a date, Vic. Your boyfriend can't be upset about this."

Vic turned bright red and Ted sighed. Leave it to these three to find ways to unintentionally make Vic feel called out.

"I'm sure her boyfriend is a reasonable bloke, Jamie," Ted tried to redirect the conversation with the lie. "Now, why don't you lot find us all a table?"

"Won't you need help with the food?" Al asked.

"I've got Vic to help," Ted glanced at her and she smiled at him. "You three find us a good spot."

Jamie ushered his siblings further into the restaurant and Ted leant back against the wall while they waited for their order to be ready.

"Sorry," he looked over at Vic as she leant against the wall next to him. "They can be a bit much sometimes."

"They're my family too, Ted." She smiled at him. "I'm just embarrassed. I didn't expect to see you tonight."

"Is it a bad thing to see me tonight?"

"No, I just won't be able to complete my master plan now." She bumped his shoulder.

"You had a master plan? And I wasn't included? I'm offended!" Ted bumped her shoulder back and smiled as their easiness finally returned.

"I couldn't include you! You wouldn't share the information!"

Then it clicked and Ted laughed.

"You were going to use your cousins to figure out my full name, weren't you?"

"I thought I could sweet-talk it out of Lily. She always talks about how much she likes you and I thought I could just show up and get her talking about you and then casually ask what your full name was." Vic chuckled, as her blush deepened.

Ted felt like his chest was trying to take flight.

"I have to give you full marks for creativity."

"Yeah but it won't work now," Vic bit her lip. "If I ask anything about you after tonight, she's going to think I fancy you."

Ted swallowed hard, "Well, don't lose hope yet."

Vic looked over at him, "You've had a change of heart?"

"If you send me a text, I can come up with some clues so you can guess my full name." He kept his eyes focused on the kid behind the counter calling orders.

"Alright," Vic's voice was quiet. "I'll text you after we get my cousins home."

Ted smiled.

Then the kid behind the counter called his order number.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to promise you right now that this story is a happy story and has a happy ending...just stick with me. ;) Next chapter goes up on Friday, August 21st.

Ted made it back to his flat and forced himself to plug his phone in next to his bed so he would stop checking it again and again. She said she would text him. He just had to trust that.

He tried to distract himself by tidying up his room a bit, but his mind kept going back to how amazing the night had been. Being there with Vic felt right, it felt easy, it felt like everything he wanted things between them to be.

He was kicking himself over that feeling for the hundredth time when his phone buzzed on his night table.

**Unknown: Did you make it home alright?**

Ted let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and saved the number.

**Ted: Who is this? How do I know you aren't a predator?**

He grinned and laid back in his bed, propping himself up against his pillow.

**Vic: I'm totally a predator. My victims are always white males in their mid-twenties.**

Ted laughed out loud.

**Ted: That seems fair. I guess I can talk to you until my coworker decides to get back to me. She was supposed to text me tonight.**

Ted watched her typing icon with what he was sure was a stupid grin on his face.

**Vic: As fun as that sounds, I really was looking forward to guessing your name, so can we drop this game and pick up that one?**

**Ted: Such a killjoy.**

**Vic: You promised me clues, Ted…**

**Ted: How do I know you're really Vic and not an impersonator?**

**Vic: Because your wolf figurine is sitting on my desk next to my laptop dock, and you knocked half your chips on the floor tonight when Jamie said that it was probably time you found a girlfriend.**

Ted groaned. That had, unfortunately, happened. Jamie had asked if Ted would start dating now that he was done with university and only had the one job. Ted had been so flustered that he tipped his basket up and knocked some of his chips on the floor.

**Ted: So cruel...why would I give you any information about my full name now?**

She sent him a GIF of a baby about to cry, and Ted started laughing. He started to type a snarky reply but stopped himself when a dangerous thought crossed his mind.

What if he called her? Heaven knew he wanted to.

He deleted what he already wrote and started again.

**Ted: Don't do that, don't pull on my heartstrings. I'll make you a deal, call me so I know it's you and then I won't hang up until you know my name.**

Ted hit send and held his breath. He was beyond screwed at this point. He was certain she was going to play this off, tell him she was tired and they could pick up this twisted game on Monday.

Then his phone rang and Teddy's heart exploded in his chest.

"You waste no time, Weasley, do you?"

"Oh, shut up," Vic laughed and Ted tried to let his relieved sigh out slowly.

"No more stalling, Ted, I want my clues."

Ted grinned, "But of course, I'm a man of my word.

"Clues, Ted, clues!"

Ted laughed. "First clue, a few of my predecessors have been our country's monarch, while another abdicated the throne."

"Ha!" She shouted, and Ted laughed as he moved his phone to his other ear.

"I knew you were an Edward," she laughed. "You're too down to earth to be a Theodore."

"What does that even mean?"

"Doesn't matter, all that matters is I was right!"

Ted couldn't stop smiling. "Are you satisfied with being right enough to not care about my last name, then?"

"In your dreams, Edward."

Ted swallowed. Maybe this was a bad idea, but he was already in this deep, too late to back out now.

"Alright, do an internet search for the scientific name of wolves."

It was quiet for a moment before Vic spoke.

"Canis Lupus?"

"Right," Ted smirked, "and this is probably the part where you decide you hate me. Because next, you take those letters and rearrange them into my last name. You'll only need five of them though."

Vic groaned. "Ted that is an awful clue!"

"I don't know, it stretches your mind and gets your brain thinking. Those are things that are supposed to help stop Alzheimer's. So really, I'm helping you, Weasley, I'm preserving your brain for your future self."

"You're so full of it," Vic laughed. "Come on, Ted, give me more than a word scramble."

Ted could feel the smile stretching across his face.

"Please, Ted." Vic's voice went soft and Ted felt himself falling.

"Alright, one last clue," he looked over at his desk and the picture of him and his mum when he was ten, a bouquet of flowers in her hands. "There's a flower, it's my last name. It's usually purple, but they come in pink and blue and orange too."

"You should send me a picture of the flower."

Ted rolled his eyes. "I have to make you work for something Weasley."

"Fine," she laughed, "I'm turning on my laptop."

"You're going to try and search for it? What is your search even going to be?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She teased.

"I would actually," Ted chuckled. "That way the next time someone wants to guess my name I can make it harder."

"I can't believe it! It worked!"

"What's my last name then, Weasley?"

"Lupin!"

Ted laughed. "What the hell did you search?!"

"Canis Lupus flower."

"Well done, Vic," Ted picked at one of the stray threads on his blanket.

"Why thank you, Edward Lupin."

His name felt like a song when she said it.

"Not a bad name, eh?"

"I've heard worse," Vic's voice was soft again. "But you still haven't told me your middle name."

"No way, Weasley," he laughed, "I don't know that about you, so I'm not giving you that information about me."

"If I tell you my middle name will you tell me yours?"

Ted felt his heart rate increase

"Yeah, I think that's fair."

It was quiet a moment before Vic made her decision. "It's Gabrielle, it's my aunt's name."

"Victoire Gabrielle Weasley," Teddy tried it out and it felt like honey on his tongue.

Vic cleared her throat, "Alright, your turn, what's your middle name?"

"Remus, after my dad," Ted answered without hesitation, "And Edward is after my grandfather."

"Edward Remus Lupin, that has a nice flow to it."

Ted smiled. "I've always been fond of my name."

It was contentedly quiet between them and then Ted got up the courage to ask something he'd been thinking about since Jamie said Vic had him reading a rough draft of a book she wrote.

"So, you're writing a book?"

Vic was silent a while longer before she answered. "Yeah, I, er, I've been working on it since uni."

"And you got a communications degree instead of focusing on creative writing because…?" Ted held his breath, worried that Vic would shut down this conversation.

"Well, I thought a communications degree would pay the bills, you know?"

"Authors do tend to have day jobs," Ted chuckled. "So, what's this story about? From someone as brilliant as you are, I'm sure it's a best-seller waiting to break all the records."

"Well, it's a fantasy epic," Vic started but then she went silent. "Oh, Sean is calling, you alright if we call it a night?"

Ted leaned his head back into the wall and closed his eyes. "Sure, I'll see you Monday."

"Thanks, Ted. See you Monday."

Teddy tossed his phone back on his night table. He might as well find something to distract himself from how much it sucked to be falling for a girl that was so far out of his reach. He changed into his P.J.s and then decided he would see if Kalil was in the mood for some late-night Mario Kart or something, but his phone buzzed against his table.

**Vic: What is it with people deciding they have to call other people when they're drunk?**

Ted sighed; he shouldn't do this. He should act like he fell asleep and text her in the morning.

**Vic: He's singing me the song playing at the pub. It's Jamie's Got A Gun.**

Ted laughed and gave in.

**Ted: Maybe it's code ;)**

**Vic: That would be the worst way to tell me he was in trouble!**

Ted grinned.

**Ted: But think of the possibilities! You could send all sorts of messages with songs!**

He watched Vic's typing icon and laughed when her message came through.

**Vic: You mean like Viva la Vida?**

**Ted: You fancy yourself a disgraced king?**

**Vic:** **I'm full of surprises.**

**Ted: That you are Weasley.**

Ted smiled as he watched Vic's typing icon blink on his screen.

**Vic: I finally convinced him to go home and get some water. I'll see you on Monday, Edward Remus Lupin. ;)**

**Vic: Goodnight, Victoire Gabrielle Weasley.**

He set his phone back down on his night table and flipped the lamp off.

Monday couldn't get here fast enough.

OoOoOoOoO

Ted laughed when he walked into the office Monday morning. His wolf figurine sat in the center of his desk with a fence built out of paperclips around it.

"Afraid he'll run back to you?"

"I just want him to understand that he has to stay with you." Vic grinned.

Ted moved his wolf out of the corral and set him down closer to Vic's desk.

"There, now he won't feel like you've abandoned him."

"What about my fence?" Vic teased.

"Oh, I think I'll see what I can get for it on eBay. There's bound to be someone out there who wants a paperclip fence."

"Start the bidding at ten quid. I'll accept nothing less for my artwork."

"Maybe we should paint it, raise its value." Ted laughed at the face Vic made.

"You want to ruin it? How dare you suggest such things!"

"I'm just saying," Ted laughed, "Why settle for less when we could maybe get twelve quid for it instead of ten?"

"You mean settle for eight quid because you had to ruin it with paint." She shot back with a laugh.

"Color makes everything better."

"Of course, you think that," Vic grinned and gestured to his hair.

Ted ruffled his hair, "Well, you told me you liked it that first day, so I think you just proved my point."

Vic smiled and looked down at her hands. "So, did you, did you really want to know about my book?"

"Of course, I do," Ted felt like she'd just offered him fifty pounds. "Is it YA or NA or YMCA?"

Vic laughed and started to give him the sparsest of details.

"That's all you're going to tell me?" Ted threw his hands up. "Come on, you can't expect me to believe you only want to tell me the basics. You've been working on this epic for more than three years!"

"Well, I mean, Sean doesn't really like to hear about it, and I just thought…"

"I'm not Sean, Vic," Ted rolled his eyes. "I want to know everything, so let's get to it."

Vic gave him a shy smile, "If you're sure?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

She smiled and before Ted knew it, they'd lost the first hour of the workday.

"Ok, let's get some work done, and then you can tell me the rest." Ted laughed. "I haven't even logged in yet."

"You're sure you want to hear how it ends?" Vic teased him.

"So torturous," Ted grinned at her.

Vic went to respond but her desk phone rang and for a moment she looked torn before turning her chair back to her desk and answering the call.

Ted grinned to himself as he went back to getting set up for the day. Things were going well, they were having fun, and he was settling happily into not just the position, but also the goal of growing their department into the first branch of _Bread & Butter_ to break off and stand on its own.

But it wasn't so great when Sean showed up at lunch and took Vic for the rest of the day. She texted him an hour after they'd left and asked that he cover for her in the case that Ron showed up, and she asked Ted to forward her desk phone to her cell phone. Ted did so, and then spent the rest of the day feeling like an idiot.

And things continued to go up and down as they moved into winter and approached Christmas.

It only made things harder when Ted realized that he wasn't hiding his attraction to Vic well from anyone, except maybe Vic.

"Why are you looking at stuffed toys that look like wolves?" Kalil sat down next to him on the sofa and leant in to see his laptop screen a bit more than a week before Christmas.

"I was thinking of giving it as a present," Ted defended.

"Right, but for whom?" Kalil gave him a pointed stare and Ted rolled his eyes.

"I don't see how that's relevant."

"Ted! You're buying a present for your coworker who is in a relationship!"

"I never said it was for Vic!" Ted shut his laptop.

"You didn't have to," Kalil shook his head. "Look, Ted, I'm worried about you. You're obsessed with Vic and she's off-limits. You need to get out of your head. Come to the pub with me and Maira tonight. I'm sure she can get a few people to come too. You need to remember that there are more women in this city than just your coworker."

"Kalil," Ted ran his hands over his face.

"What would you do if she married Sean?"

Ted felt like Kalil had just punched him in the stomach. He couldn't breathe for a moment and his chest felt like it was collapsing.

"See," Kalil put a hand on his shoulder, "I can see it in your face, Ted, you're falling for her. Stop it! Get out and find someone just as great. Come to the pub tonight."

Ted let out a long breath, and he couldn't help but think that maybe, maybe Kalil was right. Vic seemed to like to goof around with him, but she'd shown no signs of leaving Sean for him. No matter how many times Sean let her down, no matter how many times he did something that she didn't like, she stayed. And the nearly five months of working with her had been full of huge highs and incredible lows. He'd loved the moments where he felt like it was just the two of them, but walking out after work on the days Sean picked her up to find he hadn't waited long enough after she'd left as he got a full view of Sean's tongue down her throat left him feeling like a loser.

"Alright," Ted nodded, "I'll come tonight."

Kalil squeezed his shoulder, "Good on you, mate. You'll see, this will be a good thing."

Ted nodded, but a part of him wondered if it really was.

Even with his misgivings, Ted was ready to head out when Maira showed up at their flat.

"I'm so glad you're coming with us!" Maira hugged him. "I've asked a friend to meet us there, I think you'll have fun!"

Ted rubbed the back of his neck, "Thanks, Maira, I appreciate it."

"Let's head out then," Kalil took Maira's hand and led them out into the cold.

Ted realized after they'd been out for a bit, just the three of them, that this was a good idea. He hadn't gone out much at all since before finals in May. Getting to laugh and talk with friends felt freeing.

"Oh, there's Nicki!" Maira jumped up and waved her friend over to their table.

Ted turned around to see a woman who could have been described as Vic's opposite. She had black hair with lime green highlights and it was cut in choppy layers, the longest barely touching her shoulders. And while Vic tended to wear conservatively colored clothes, at least at work and the one Saturday Ted had seen her, Nicki was wearing a bright pink blouse with teal trousers; her orange coat draped over her arm.

"Nicki this is Kalil's roommate, Ted Lupin. Ted this is my friend Nicki Choi."

"It's nice to meet you, and I love your hair!" She shook his hand across the table as she sat down.

"Thanks, I like yours as well." Ted smiled. Nicki wasn't Vic, but she definitely put out the vibe that she liked to have a good time.

And she did. Nicki was loud and fun and not afraid of anything. She tried anything she was put up to. She laughed loudly. She defended her opinions with passion, even if he flat out told her she was wrong. Nicki reminded Ted a bit of the stories he had heard about his mum when she was his age.

Ted was having fun, and so when Nicki scooted closer to him, he didn't think about it when he draped his arm across her shoulders. And when she rested her head on his shoulder, he let her. A small part of him pushed back, but Ted told that part of him that if Vic could snog Sean in the car park, then he could let a cool woman rest her head on his shoulder.

"I'm calling it a night," Nicki moved to hug Maira at about half eleven. Then she turned to Ted. "Will you wait with me out front for my Uber?"

"Sure thing," Ted nodded and moved to follow her. He tried to ignore the way Kalil grinned at him.

"This was fun," Nicki smiled up at him and pulled her orange coat closer around her.

"Yeah," Ted nodded, "yeah it was."

"So, who broke your heart?"

Ted blinked. "What?"

"You have 'heartbroken' written all over your face. I figured that was why Maira called me." She smiled sympathetically at him.

"I, er, it's complicated." Ted shook his head and rubbed his hand over his eyes.

"Did you have fun tonight?"

"Yeah," Ted chuckled, "yeah, I actually had a lot of fun."

"We could keep having fun. I don't expect you to move into another relationship with me, but we could just have fun, spend some time reminding you that hearts heal."

Ted hesitated. He didn't know why, but he did. Nicki was amazing. He'd be an idiot to turn her down.

"Here," Nicki pulled out a gum wrapper and pen from her clutch and wrote on it. "This is my number. Think about it, Ted, I think we could have a lot of fun together."

Ted nodded as he took the gum wrapper. "Thanks, I, er, I'll think about it, alright?"

Nicki smiled and then nodded a few cars down from the curb. "There's my Uber. Thanks, Ted."

She stepped forward and kissed his cheek, her cold lips managing to warm just the skin they touched.

Ted stood in the cold and watched her wave once before climbing into the Uber. He waved back and then the car pulled away.

He took a moment before he went back inside. Gum wrapper still clasped in his hand. He'd had fun with Nicki, and she obviously had fun with him. She was fun and beautiful and he admired her spunk and attitude.

So why was he hesitating?

Ted slipped the wrapper into his wallet and went back inside.

"That took some time," Kalil smirked at him.

"Er, yeah, I, we talked," Ted took a swig from his drink.

"Nicki is amazing, Ted," Maira smiled.

"Yeah, yeah she's, she's really cool, I, er, she gave me her number."

"You're going to call her, right?" Kalil asked.

"I, er, I think I might, yeah."

Kalil stared at him like he was stupid and Ted sighed.

"I think I'm done for tonight, mates. I'll catch an Uber home, let you two enjoy the rest of your night." Ted didn't wait for a response. He forced a smile and moved to the door. The pub wasn't all that far from their flat, and so Ted decided to walk it instead of requesting the ride.

The cold was bitter, but it helped to clear his head, though not enough to figure out what he should do. He wanted to hope that maybe Vic would suddenly return his feelings and dump Sean and be with him. But even with all the problems he could see she was having with Sean, Vic still stayed. A part of Ted feared she always would.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Monday morning rolled around and Ted was trying to figure out if he was looking forward or not to seeing Vic as he drove into work. He'd spent Sunday more or less holed up in his room, and Kalil seemed content to let Ted work through this one on his own. That didn't mean Ted was any surer one way or the other, though.

But when Ted walked into the office, he paused.

Vic hadn't made it in yet.

That felt weird. Ted was never late, but Vic was always early. He tried to shrug it off and get himself settled in for the day. She'd probably hit traffic was all. But even as he kept telling himself that, Ted kept trying to see around the corner of the building out the window into the car park.

Finally, he heard the door push open and Ted spun in his chair, ready to razz her for being late. But his eyes fell on her hand as she pulled off her glove with her teeth.

"You've got to be kidding me." He'd said it before he could stop himself.

"I know!" Vic smiled down at her ring. "I would have thought he would have waited for Christmas or New Year's, but he asked last night!"

"That's," Ted forced a smile, "wow. I, er, congratulations."

"Thanks," Vic smiled at the ring again and then started getting settled into her desk.

Ted thought he might vomit. He needed to get out. He couldn't be here, not with her, not now, now that she'd chosen Sean permanently.

He picked up his desk phone and forwarded it to his cell. Then he shut down his laptop.

"Are you going somewhere?" Vic looked over as he packed up.

"I have a few sales calls I'm going on today."

"Oh, well, are we still good for dinner?"

Ted paused. He'd forgotten all about their Monday and Wednesday meetings over dinner. Those evenings that he looked forward to every week. The moments that he felt connected to her in a way that felt real to him.

"I actually have something tonight. I'm sorry I should have remembered to tell you on Friday." He zipped up his backpack and grabbed his coat.

"I'll see you tomorrow, and congrats again, it's brilliant."

"Thanks," Vic frowned, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Right," Ted nodded and left without a second glance.

He was grateful that she wouldn't be able to see him from the window as he stepped into the car park. How could he have been so stupid? Of course, she chose Sean. Ted had wanted her to like him so much he'd blinded himself to the fact that she was in love with her boyfriend, tosser that he was.

Ted drove home and set up at his desk in his room to get back to work. He tossed his wallet on his dresser and paused. He pulled out the gum wrapper and called Nicki.

It went straight to voicemail, and Ted almost hung up, almost gave into that part of him that hoped Vic would choose him, but he pushed that aside and left a message.

"Hey, Nicki, it's Ted. I was calling to see if you wanted to grab a drink or something. I, er, I hope to hear back from you. Bye."

He set his phone down on the desk and powered on his laptop. Then his phone buzzed.

**Nicki: Hey Ted, it's Nicki, I'm in a meeting, but would you like to meet for lunch today?**

Ted didn't let himself hesitate this time.

**Ted: Sounds great, send me an address and time. I'll meet you there.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter goes up on August 28th.
> 
> .....I promise this story ends happily!

Ted sat at the family Christmas gathering moping. He would deny it aloud, but even he knew that he was moping.

"Hey," Aunt Bridget sat down next to him and smiled, "Why so glum-looking?"

Ted shook his head, "I was an idiot and I got myself burned."

"With work?"

"No, with a girl."

Aunt Bridget smiled at him and Ted almost told her that if she wanted to laugh at him, she could do so without him present, but then she pulled him into a hug.

"I think that this runs in our family. Look at your Uncle James and Aunt Lily. They talk all the time about how they ran around each other for years before they finally figured themselves out. Sirius and Marlene say they took longer than the Potter's to admit they were more than just friends with benefits. Your dad thought he was ruining your mum's life at first. And I was dating someone else when Peter met me."

Ted's head shot up. "You were dating someone when you met Uncle Pete?

Bridget smiled, "Yeah, I was with another bloke, and looking back I feel like a fool for having stayed with him for as long as I did. Peter was who I needed to be with from the get-go."

"What, what changed?" Ted picked at the Christmas cookie crumbs on Aunt Lily's table cloth.

"We both did. I had to realize that there could be other people out there for me other than the bloke I had settled for to date…"

"Who're you dating?" Uncle Peter sat down next to Aunt Bridget.

"I was telling Teddy here about when we met." Bridget smiled at him.

Peter laughed, "You know, that was by far the hardest experience of my life."

"How, how did you get through it?" Ted tried to not sound as interested or as desperate as he felt.

"James," Peter smiled and looked over at where James was telling his granddaughter a story that involved pantomiming something rather bizarre-looking, causing Lily to shake with laughter. "James told me that I didn't need to give up. He pointed out how he and Lily had to wait for the right time, and that I probably would too with Bridget if it was going to happen for us. Every time I thought of giving up, James would remind me that I might just need to wait for my time."

"Why did you listen to him?" Ted held his uncle's stare.

Peter smiled and put a hand on his arm, "I knew, Ted. I knew the moment I saw Bridget that she was it. No matter how many times I tried to move on to someone else, which, believe me, there were several attempts made, I always came back to her."

"You're going to make me cry," Bridget kissed Peter's cheek and he chuckled.

"Look, Ted, whoever you're hung up on, give yourself some time, maybe try and move on, but if it doesn't work, then listen to James. Don't give up on her, just wait it out."

Ted nodded, and then Uncle Sirius was yelling at everyone to sing because Remus didn't learn to play the bloody piano so they could all just sit and listen to him.

Ted chuckled as he joined in the caroling. He was pretty sure that wanting to play without people singing was exactly why his dad had learned to play the piano.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ted couldn't avoid the business planning meetings with Vic after the new year, but he did better at keeping them more business-focused, and he stopped hanging around with Vic after they were finished. He did force himself to stop working from home under the guise of meeting with clients, even though that seemed like the easy way out. And he started spending weekends out doing things with Nicki or with Kalil and Maira or visiting his parents. Ted never could bring himself to mention Nicki to Vic though. He could never seem to get the words out.

Overall, he was ok.

At least that's what he kept telling himself. Because he was quickly finding out that maybe he had more in common with Uncle Peter than he ever thought he would. No matter how many evenings he spent out with Nicki, Ted still spent his nights wondering about Vic and thinking about the next time he'd get to see her. It was torturous, and Ted felt like a dick on all fronts for it.

"Have you two set a date then?" Ted asked Vic at the end of January. He was starting to wonder if she just wasn't going to tell him when her wedding was. She'd been engaged for over a month now.

Vic looked down at her keyboard and pursed her lips as she took a deep breath in through her nose. "Sean isn't sure yet."

Ted blinked. "Er, does, does he have things going on this year?"

"No." Vic frowned and gripped her hands together.

"Okay, then," Ted, again, wanted to pummel Sean.

What kind of arse wouldn't set a date with the woman _he_ asked to marry him? And Ted was finally at the point where he wanted to scream at Vic. Why was she putting up with this? Why wouldn't she stand up for herself? Why couldn't she see she was worth more than Sean's crap?

"I just," Vic's voice cracked and Ted looked up to see tears slipping down her perfect cheeks.

"Hey," Ted wheeled his desk chair next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Vic covered her face with her hands. "You don't need to be worried about this."

Ted took a deep breath. "Vic, I'm your friend and I'm here if you need me. You obviously need someone to talk to, and if you want it to be me, I'm here."

Vic wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his blue dress shirt as she cried.

 _Don't be that guy,_ Kalil's voice rang in his mind, but Ted told him to shut up. Vic was upset and she needed someone she could turn to. If it could be him, why the freak not?

"I just don't understand what's happening. I thought things were going alright and ever since he proposed I feel like we've been completely off-kilter and at odds with each other. It's been horrible and he won't set a date and my mum is starting to worry and I just…" She hiccupped and started to sob harder.

"Hey," Ted pulled Vic closer and tried not to think about how right it felt to hold her. "I know it feels awful now, but I'm sure if you talk to him about it, you'll figure it out."

She shook her head, "He doesn't like it when I try to talk about things like this."

Ted bit his tongue to keep from saying what a prick he thought Sean was.

"Come on," Ted stood up and pulled her up with him. "We're skiving off for a bit. You need some cheering up, I don't have any calls, and I'm sure whatever you've got left for the day can wait for tomorrow."

Vic wiped her eyes, "Are you being serious?"

Ted chuckled at the joke she didn't know. "I'm not joking around, forward your desk phone, and grab your coat."

Finally, Vic smiled. "Yeah, alright, that sounds really nice."

Ted grinned. He thought it sounded pretty nice too, and when she was sitting shot-gun in his car again, no god-siblings in sight, Ted thought it sounded more than nice, it was almost perfect.

"Where are we going?" Vic started playing with his radio.

"Surprises aren't surprises if you know beforehand." Ted tsked and smiled at her.

"What about clues?"

Ted rolled his eyes, "You live for clues."

"No, I live for your clues." She laughed, and Ted tried to keep his face in check.

"Alright, a clue: my mum always says there are three things that make everything better. And we're going to get one of those things."

"What are the three things?"

"Really, Weasley, you think I'll just give away that information?" Ted laughed as he switched lanes.

"Fine, then what is a clue for where we're going?"

"You'll be able to speak with the owners."

Vic hit his arm. "That's a ridiculous clue!"

Ted laughed at her pout, so much more playful than her sobbing had been not fifteen minutes ago.

"We've established that I'm ridiculous and you find it endearing. Not to mention, it's actually a very good clue because I _can't_ speak to the owners, just their son."

Vic frowned, "You can't speak to the owners, but you can speak to their son?"

"Yep," Ted grinned as he watched her wheels turn.

"Oh! The owners speak French, don't they?"

"What do you think?" Ted pulled off in front of a little shop that his parents had brought him to since he was a kid. _Le Chocolat Expatrié_ was lit up bright with paper snowflakes in the window and Ted could smell the chocolate from the moment he opened his car door.

Vic's eyes were huge as Ted opened her door.

"I've never been here before. I thought Mum knew every French place in the city."

"I'm full of surprises, Weasley."

Ted hesitated a moment before offering his hand to help her out of his car. She took it instantly, and Ted felt his face break into a small smile.

But the magic was short-lived as Vic let go of his hand as soon as she was out of his car.

"Come on," Ted tried to shrug it off, "you'll love this place. And this is my treat, no arguing about paying for yourself."

Vic's smile was soft and Ted felt the familiar ache in his chest.

"Ok, no arguing."

Jaques stood behind the counter setting fresh chocolates out and Ted waved as he ushered Vic inside.

"Afternoon, Jaques. Can we start with two hot chocolates, please?"

Jaques smiled and nodded at Ted. "Sure thing, I'll have those right up."

"Your folks around? The mademoiselle speaks French, and I told her she might get to speak it today."

Jaques gave Ted a grin that spoke louder than words. "My mum is, I'll see if she's not too busy to come and say bonjour."

Then he nodded to Vic and spoke in French. Vic instantly blushed and licked her lips as she replied. Jaques laughed and said something else before disappearing into the back room.

"He wasn't saying anything he shouldn't, right?" Ted watched Jaques go, wishing he hadn't given up on learning French all those years ago.

"No," Vic bit her lip and toyed with her gloves, "He asked if I was your girlfriend. I told him we were just friends."

Ted chuckled, "Yeah, they're my nosy neighbors, sort of. I've had my hair turquoise since I was eleven, and I've never seen my mum's hair any color but pink, so we stand out in their minds. Plus, we come here a lot."

"Got to get your chocolate fix, Lupin?" Vic chuckled as she sat down at one of the three small tables against the wall.

Ted sat across from her, "I happen to be quite fond of chocolate, at least this chocolate."

Vic laughed, "You say that like you're picky."

"I am, well now at any rate. My Uncle Sirius had a business trip to the States, and for a joke brought us kids some cheap American chocolate. It was rubbish, honestly, our halfpenny chocolate is better. So, I've learned to specify." Ted smiled at Vic's laughter.

"That's a cruel prank to play on children!"

"Uncle Sirius isn't so bad, but he definitely likes a good laugh."

Vic laughed as she slipped her gloves off, but Ted noticed that she left her engagement ring in the finger of her glove.

Ted started to point it out to her, but Madam Rousseau walked out carrying a tray with their hot chocolates.

"Mercí beaucoup," he smiled at the woman who felt a little bit like a great-aunt he couldn't understand or really speak to.

Vic thanked her and then Madame Rousseau pulled a chair over to their little table for two. Ted spent the next fifteen minutes drinking his hot chocolate and listening to Vic speak French.

Not a bad way to pass an afternoon.

Suddenly, Madame Rousseau clapped her hands together and stood before disappearing into the back room.

Vic smiled at him. "She's bringing us some croissants she baked yesterday."

Ted blinked, "Really? They don't sell those." He turned back to the menu board to make sure and found no mentions of croissants anywhere.

Vic laughed, "She baked them for some friends that were visiting from France and is going to let us each have one."

"She must really like you," Ted laughed. "I've never had her give me baked goods."

"What does she normally give you?"

"The chocolate I pay for and a ruffle of my hair." Ted shrugged his shoulders as Vic laughed.

"She likes you," Vic smirked and brought her mug to her lips.

"Think she'll run away with me?"

Vic nearly snorted hot chocolate out her nose and Ted nearly felt bad about it, but he was laughing too hard.

"I hate you," Vic laughed and coughed as she covered her mouth and nose with her napkin.

"No, you don't," Ted gained control of his laughter a fraction more than Vic had as she tried to calm her coughing.

Vic wiped the water from her eyes and smiled that soft smile again.

"You're right, I don't hate you. I think you're a pretty amazing bloke."

Then Madame Rousseau brought out the most delicious tasting croissants he'd ever had and Ted used it as the reason he didn't respond. Because all he wanted to ask was if he was more amazing or less amazing than her fiancé, her fiancé who wouldn't set a wedding date with her.

"This has been really nice, Ted," Vic smiled as she climbed in his car.

"Good," Ted handed her the box of chocolates he had Jaques put together for them. "See, chocolate makes everything better."

"The company helps too."

Ted didn't dare look at her. He couldn't. Everything he wanted to say was sitting just on the tip of his tongue. The fact that over the last six months he'd fallen in love with her, that Ted felt Sean was a poor excuse for a boyfriend, let alone a fiancé, and that Ted wanted to be so much more than her coworker or friend.

But Ted didn't say any of that. Instead, he gestured to the box of chocolates on her lap.

"You should try the hazelnut truffle; those are their best."

Vic was quiet for a moment before Ted heard her open the box and pull out the chocolate.

She hummed happily, "You're right, these are amazing!"

Ted gave her a small smile. This afternoon had been both amazing and torturous, but he was sure of one thing now that it was coming to an end; he couldn't keep doing this, spending time with her away from work, laughing, having fun. It was just too much, too hard to keep his emotions in check, too hard to keep his rule about not touching her, too hard to bite his tongue and not say everything he felt.

He pulled into the car park and tried to keep all those emotions off his face as he looked over at her.

"Thanks," Vic smiled, "I really needed that."

"Sure, I'm glad it helped." Ted gripped the steering wheel, trying to ground himself somehow.

"I need to run back in, I left my wedding binder in the office." Vic undid her seatbelt.

And there it was, the slap in the face of reality.

"Right, I'll, er, I'll see you tomorrow then."

Vic stepped out onto the pavement, "Bye, Ted."

Ted looked up at her smiling face and swallowed, "Bye, Vic."

He watched her walk back into the building before pulling out of the car park and started heading home but changed his mind a few moments later. He turned around and started heading to his parents' home.

"Mum? Dad?" He called as he let himself inside.

"Teddy?" His mum stepped into the hall and nearly knocked over a stack of books on the hall table.

"Hey, Mum, is Dad around too maybe?"

"He just got home and is upstairs changing, is everything alright?"

"I need help." Ted moved to the kitchen table and rested his head in his hands.

A moment later both his parents were sitting on either side of him.

"What's going on, son?" His dad put his hand on his shoulder.

And Ted started the story. How he had known from the beginning that Vic was taken. How he had justified spending time with her for the sake of taking their little corner of the company and turning it into something huge. How he had slowly fallen in love with Vic. How he had hoped she'd someday wake up and realize he was the better man. How Vic had said yes to Sean's proposal. How Uncle Peter's encouragement had been his excuse to keep waiting around. How he had more or less convinced her to skive off the last half of the workday to take her on what felt so much like a date. And how finally, he'd realized he couldn't keep this up. He couldn't keep pretending that he could be her friend and nothing more.

He couldn't keep doing this.

"Teddy, you need to tell her how you feel." His mum took his hand. "She deserves to know how you feel about her. It isn't fair to keep her in the dark like this."

"Sounds great, Mum, and when she shoots me down, then what? Do I just go to work every day and pretend I didn't say anything?" Ted rubbed at the headache that he had come to live with since Vic accepted Sean's proposal.

"Ron did say if you proved yourself, he'd let you transfer into the marketing department for _Bread & Butter_." His dad pointed out. "Maybe that's an option, and if it isn't, you can always move back here until you get your feet back on the ground."

Ted swallowed. This had suddenly become very real and very raw very fast.

"We'll be here, whatever happens, Teddy." His mum squeezed his hand. "If she decides she doesn't return your feelings, and you don't think you can keep working there, then we'll get you through it. And if she does return your feelings, then we'll be here to support you in that as well."

"Thanks," Ted nodded and tried to push away the dread that was building in his gut.

"How about some dinner?" His dad rubbed his shoulder. "We've got leftover Irish stew from yesterday."

"Thanks," Ted nodded, "That sounds really great right now."

He was still feeling like his world was imploding on itself when he got home that night. And he'd decided to just go to bed when his phone rang.

"Hey, Nicki," Ted sighed.

"Whoa, you alright?"

"Yeah, just a long day." Ted sat down on his bed.

"Well, I might just be your favorite person then."

"Nicki, I'm not going pub hopping on a Thursday."

"No, but you are working a sales job when you'd rather be working a marketing job. And guess who's place of work is opening up a marketing position tomorrow morning?" There was a note of excitement in her voice - like she wanted him to work where she worked. "If you send me your resume, I can give it to the hiring manager first thing tomorrow morning. You'd be on their desk before anyone else."

Ted felt everything in him freeze. This would be the perfect out. He wouldn't even have to ask Ron to move him. He could slide out of all their lives and go back to happily knowing just one Weasley who was now Potter. He could pretend like he never even met Vic. Sure he'd lose out on being Ron's front runner, but knowing now that would most likely mean working with Vic while she went on to marry and start a life with someone else, well that scenario seemed more like torture than a dream.

"Ted, are you there?" Nicki's voice sounded in his ear.

"Er, yeah, sorry, I, er, I just, I'm speechless. Yes, thank you, I'll send you my resume just as soon as we hang up."

"Great! Do you want to go pub hopping tomorrow then? Celebrate that maybe we could get you into your preferred profession?"

Ted tried to chuckle as he lied, "Let's plan on touching base on Saturday, I promised my folks I'd help them out tomorrow after work."

"Sounds like a plan, have fun with your folks, and don't forget to send me that resume."

"I'll send it right over."

"Good, see you soon, Ted."

"Right, g'night."

Ted hung up and opened his laptop to update his resume with working sales with _Bread & Butter_ before sending it off to Nicki. He knew this meant he would need to face his fate soon and he determined it would have to be tomorrow. Tomorrow was Friday, so it would work out that if she shut him down, he'd have the weekend to hide in a hole and die inside. And on that cheery thought, Ted tried to fall asleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ted spent Friday on edge.

He was going to tell Vic at the end of the day. He was going to confess that he loved her, and if she shot him down, he'd work from home on Monday and call Ron to see if he could transfer to the marketing department. Then he'd just work from home until he either got a new job or Ron told him he had to stop - at which point he'd quit and deal with the fallout.

Ted couldn't concentrate. He got nothing done. It was all Ted could do to answer the few calls from his clients. His brain wouldn't even let him play solitaire, and he couldn't manage to joke around with Vic.

Finally, the workday ended.

"Hey, Vic," Ted slipped his laptop into his backpack after he'd forwarded his desk phone to his cell. "Can I, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," Vic smiled at him as she went to the sink to refill her water bottle.

Ted moved to stand against the refrigerator.

"I, er, I," He took a deep breath, "Vic, I'm in love with you."

She dropped her water bottle in the sink and the clattering of it seemed to echo in the small office space.

"What?" She turned and looked at him with wide eyes.

"I just, I needed you to know, you deserve to know."

"Ted! Ted, you're my best friend!"

"Yeah," Ted looked down at his shoes, "But somewhere along the way I went from you being my best friend to being the woman I was in love with."

"Ted, Ted," she hugged her arms around her waist, "Ted, what, what am I supposed to do?"

Ted couldn't look up at her, he couldn't handle it, seeing the betrayal she surely felt on her beautiful face.

"I just needed to say it, I just needed you to know where I stand."

"Ted," she grabbed his hand and Ted finally gave in and looked at her.

She had stepped right next to him, close enough that if he shifted to the right a fraction, he would be pressed up against her.

"Vic, are you really going to marry Sean?"

Her face fell and she bit her lip. "Ted…"

"Vic, please, just tell me."

"Ted, Ted, you're my best friend." She squeezed his hand and Ted shook his head.

"Don't, just," he sighed and realized this whole thing had definitely gone south. This was it. He'd never see Vic again.

And maybe that's why he leant in, maybe that's why he gave her hand a soft tug, maybe that's why he brought his lips to hers.

He thought she'd pull back immediately; he was even prepared for her to smack him.

But she didn't.

Vic's other hand moved to his chest and she tilted her face closer to his. And Ted moved out of instinct as he wrapped his other hand around her waist. Her lips were so soft and she fit so perfectly against him. He felt like he was flying. All the times he'd thought about what it would be like to kiss her, to feel her skin under his hands, all his imagining couldn't compare to what slanting his lips across hers and gripping her waist actually felt like. For a moment he forgot this wasn't going to end well, that this moment was stolen in almost the worst way possible.

But it was heaven, and he wanted to die right there.

Until Vic pulled back.

"Ted," she bit her lip, then opened her mouth to say more but nothing came out.

"Right," he let go of her hand, "take care of yourself. I'll look for your book when you get it published."

He stepped away from her and took one last look at her distraught face before he turned around, grabbed his backpack from his desk, and walked out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters today, because I know last week's ending was a cliffhanger and I do have a heart. :) Next week's update is on Saturday, September 5th, and we'll move to Vic's POV for a little bit.

Ted spent the weekend holed up in his flat. He didn't come out of his bedroom after he got home on Friday and only interacted with other people long enough to text his dad that he'd been shot down. He told Nicki he had the chills on Saturday and stayed in his room, and he only came out for a couple of microwave meals on Sunday.

When Monday finally rolled around, he picked himself up out of his bed, sat himself down at his desk, and tried to pretend like he didn't feel like dying as he dialed Ron.

"Hey, Ted, how can I help you?"

"Hey, Ron, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, I told you to call for anything."

Ted fiddled with a pen on his desk. "Well, you had mentioned the possibility of moving me to your marketing department if I proved myself, and in six months I've been able to more than double your clients and expanded your client base to a few franchises and several more stand-alone restaurants and bakeries than what you had when I started working for you. I'm hoping I've been able to show you I'm ready for the transfer."

Ron was quiet for several seconds before he finally spoke.

"You want to be transferred now?"

"Yes."

"I see," Ron hummed for a long moment. "Ted, have you had a paid day since you started working for me?"

Ted took the phone from his ear to make sure he'd called Ron and not one of his uncles.

"No, I haven't."

What the bloody hell did that have to do with anything?

"Tell you what, I'm going to need some time to figure all this out, but I don't want to make you keep pushing sales if you want to be in marketing, Ted. So, I want to give you two weeks of paid time off, don't worry about putting it in the calendar, I'll take care of everything. You take these two weeks to take care of you and yours, and I'll see what I can put together for you. Do we have a deal?"

Ted looked at his phone screen again. What was happening?

"Yeah, er yes, yes we do. Thank you."

"My pleasure, now go on a holiday or play Nintendo or whatever and don't turn on your laptop for the next two weeks."

Ted chuckled, "Thanks boss, I'll talk to you in two weeks."

They hung up and Ted checked for a third time that he'd dialed Ron's number. What was going on?

He now had the next two weeks free. That felt very weird. He hadn't had more than three days in a row off since A-Levels. But business school thankfully kicked in and Ted created and then set his email to his out-of-office auto-reply and Ron's contact information for emergencies. Ted texted Ron that his desk phone was forwarded to his cell from Friday, and Ron promised to take care of it by the end of the day. Ted would normally record a message that he was out of office, but as that required him to go into the office, Ted determined that anyone who called could just wait for Ron to call them back.

And then Ted went back to bed.

He was having an insane dream of trying to stop Vic's wedding but no one could see him or hear him when a rough hand shook him awake.

Ted blinked his eyes open to see Harry standing over him.

"Is everything alright?" Ted pushed up, worried that Harry had come because someone else in the family was in trouble.

"You tell me, mate."

Ted shook his head, "No, I mean is everyone alright? Are you here because someone's in trouble?"

"Oh, no, everyone else is fine. But I got a call from your dad asking if I'd check in on you since you'd had a rough couple days at work, and then I got a call from Ron asking if everything was alright with you and that he'd just given you the next two weeks off. So, what part of the story am I missing?"

Ted pulled his covers over his head.

"When have I ever steered you wrong, Ted?" Harry gave a tug on the sheets.

"This damned job, Harry," Ted shot back, and immediately regretted it.

"Does that come with an explanation? Or is this like with Jamie when I have to figure it out for myself?"

Ted bristled at being compared to his teenage god-brother, but that annoying voice in his head pointed out that Harry wasn't wrong in his comparison.

"Fine," Ted pushed up out of his covers and moved to sit at his desk. "Look, I appreciated the job opportunity, really, and everything I'm telling you is in confidence, Marauders family only, alright?"

"You got it, mate," Harry nodded.

Ted looked down at his backpack and shoved it against his desk trying to find any outlet for his emotions.

"Long story short, I fell in love with Victoire."

Harry let out a long whistle.

"And I told her I was in love with her on Friday, and she shot me down, obviously, because she's engaged."

Harry chuckled, and Ted shot him a glare.

"I'm not laughing at you, just at some of the words Bill has used to describe Sean over the past couple weeks."

"Bill sounds like a smart bloke." Ted let out a hollow laugh.

"That's why you asked Ron to be transferred?"

"Would you want to tell Ginny you love her, have her tell you to hit the road, and then have to spend eight to nine hours five days a week with her?" Ted finally looked up at Harry.

Harry nodded, "I definitely get why you want out. I just…"

"What?"

"I wish I could tell you what to do." He shoved his hand in his hair. "I honestly have nothing."

"That's better than what your dad had to say." Ted shook his head.

"What did Dad tell you?" Harry frowned.

"Not me directly, but Uncle Peter met Aunt Bridget when she was dating someone else, and Uncle James told Uncle Peter to not give up on her."

"And Peter told you not to give up on Vic?"

"I didn't tell them her name, but yeah, he and Aunt Bridget told me to just wait for the timing to line up." Ted dropped his head to his chest. "I'm an idiot."

Harry shook his head. "I fancied Gin for over a year before we finally figured ourselves out, Ted."

"Not helping," Ted shook his head. "All of you never had to face the fact that the girl you were in love with agreed to marry someone that wasn't you. I never even had a chance and I deluded myself into thinking I did."

"Out of curiosity, what made you think you had a chance?" Harry leant forward and rested his arms on his knees.

Ted huffed. "She paid attention to me, pathetic right?"

"How, Ted? How did she pay attention to you?"

Ted threw himself back in his desk chair. "I don't know. She played along when I told her she had to guess my last name. She came with me and your kids to that chippy they like so much. She let me teach her business after work a couple of nights a week. She let me comfort her when Sean was being a dick to her. I took her to Mum's favorite chocolatier on Thursday." Ted felt the smile pull on his lips and hated himself for it.

Harry hummed and shook his head. "I hate not knowing what to tell you."

"I don't expect you to know everything anymore, Harry." Ted chuckled.

"Yeah, but this means at some point I'm not going to know what to tell my kids either." Harry laughed.

Ted grinned. "Thanks for coming by, I still feel like crap, but less so now that someone else knows, and it helps that you aren't telling me what an arse I am for going after a woman who was already spoken for."

"You're in good company. Gin was in multiple relationships over the year or so it took me to figure out how to tell her I fancied her. And we know about Peter and Bridgit. I can think of a few others as well." Harry chuckled. "Who knows, mate, maybe someday she figures it out and makes it back to you."

Ted shook his head. "I really appreciate the sentiment, but she's been putting up with Sean's crap for over a year and she's agreed to spend the rest of her life putting up with it. That's a fair indication that she isn't finding her way back to me."

Harry let out a long sigh. "Let's go grab lunch together. I know you've got time, and it would probably help you to have some normalcy right now."

Ted suddenly realized he had no idea what time it actually was, and that he was surprisingly hungry. He looked over at his phone and gawked at the readout.

"Is it really almost noon?"

"This is why your dad wanted me to check on you. I love you Ted, but you tend to try and sleep through your problems." Harry chuckled, "Get dressed, and let's get food."

Lunch with Harry was a good start to his enforced holiday, and while Teddy still felt like he had his heart ripped out of his chest, he at least felt like he could function in this state.

And maybe, if he could go out and have fun with Harry for lunch, maybe he could do it with friends too. So, Ted did a bit of shopping on his way home.

"What's all this?" Kalil walked in from work and looked around at the spread across their kitchen table.

"It's an apology, sort of," Ted ran a hand along the back of his neck. "I've been an awful friend for the last six or so months, and I want to make it up to you."

"With all our favorite foods?" Kalil snagged a crisp bag.

"And a Mario Kart showdown?" Ted offered.

"Oh, you are going down, Lupin!" Kalil laughed. "Let me get out of this button-up and I'm going to kick your trash!"

Ted laughed as he realized how much he had missed being friends with Kalil.

"How are things with Nicki going?" Kalil asked after he'd beat Ted for the umpteenth time.

"We have a lot of fun pub hopping, but it's hard to get to know someone that way." Ted popped a crisp in his mouth.

"So, you ask her to dinner?" Kalil looked at him like he was an idiot. "I mean you had lunch together that one time, right?"

"I know, mate, I just wasn't sure if I was ready yet, you know? But I think maybe, maybe I am?"

"Ted, you're a great bloke, and Nicki is awesome. Just give it a go. The worst that happens is that you find out you two aren't there and you move on."

Ted snorted, "Easy for you to say. You've been with Maira since before we met."

"Some of us get lucky." Kalil shrugged. "And speaking of that, keep this to yourself, but when the lease runs out in August, I'm hoping you'll need a new roommate."

Ted blinked, "You're kidding?"

Kalil grinned, "Not in the slightest. I bought the ring on Saturday."

"I'll start looking at cheaper places closer to work then." Ted grinned back.

"I still have to ask her. Don't sign anything until that ring is on her finger.

"She's going to say yes, you prat," Ted laughed.

"That's what I'm hoping for," Kalil picked up his controller, "but if she turns me down, at least I know I can still kick your trash at this game."

Ted rolled his eyes and started the next round.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

He was being ridiculous. It was stupid to be nervous about asking Nicki to dinner. Kalil was right, they'd gone to lunch that one time and they'd gone pub-hopping almost every weekend since Vic got engaged. He shouldn't be low key freaking out. He should be looking forward to caring enough to try with Nicki because as much as he hated it until Vic shut him down, he hadn't been trying at all.

It was time to stop pretending that Vic was it for him. It was time to put forth the effort where things could lead to happiness as opposed to misery and heartbreak. It was time to move on.

So, on Tuesday, he called during what he hoped would be her lunch hour.

"Ted! How are you?"

"I'm good, I er, I was wondering if you had a free night this week? Thought I could convince you to let me take you to dinner." Ted wished his voice sounded more level and less like he was twelve.

"I think I could handle that," Nicki laughed, "How about tomorrow night?

Ted tried not to sigh in relief. "Sounds good, I'll pick you up at half seven?"

"I can't wait," Nicki sounded like she was smiling.

Ted let some of his nervousness out in a soft chuckle, "Me either."

He spent the rest of the day ignoring what a mess he was inside; he had no idea how to fix himself, but he consoled himself by saying at least he was doing something.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"This is pretty cool, Ted." Nicki looked around the small Korean restaurant he found. Today she wore a neon purple spandex shirt under an orange sweater and her teal pants.

"Well, since you told me I was deprived because I never tried kimchi, I figured I should probably let you lead me through Korean cuisine." Ted tapped her menu. "So, whatever you order is what I'm eating."

Nicki pursed her lips. "How do you handle spicy food?"

"Not as hot as my uncle makes his Indian food, but I like spicy food that doesn't make me feel like I'm going to die when I eat it."

Nicki laughed and set her menu down. "Fair enough, we'll get my favorites then and you can decide if you like Korean food or not."

The server arrived and Nicki ordered in Korean. Ted smiled; he liked the way it sounded. Korean had a cadence to it that pulled him in.

"So, what are we eating tonight?" Ted asked as the server walked away.

"I'm starting you out easy," Nicki teased and kicked his foot under the table. "We're having kimchi fried rice and bulgogi."

Ted kicked her foot back, "Worried I can't handle anything more?"

Nicki nodded, "That's exactly what I'm thinking."

"I'm wounded!" Ted laughed, "I had no idea you thought so little of me!"

"You're pretty thick then," Nicki smiled, "I only turn down every opportunity to be around you."

"Typical idiot, I am," Ted grinned back at her.

It fell quiet and Ted felt awkward in the silence. He felt like he should have something more to say, but nothing came to mind, so he reached for his water instead and tried to ignore how he'd never felt awkward in the silences he'd had with Vic.

Somehow Nicki managed to move them back into small talk until their food arrived, and Ted found out how much he liked Korean food.

"Really, Nicki, this is amazing." Ted took another bite of the kimchi fried rice.

"See, I told you that you had been deprived."

"We are going to have to come back, I need you to show me what else I'm missing out on."

"So, does that mean I'll get another date?" Nicki laughed.

Ted ignored the part of him that was put out that Nicki wanted a second date with him when Vic hadn't wanted anything to do with him.

"I mean if you can put up with me," he shrugged.

Nicki shook her head as she chuckled. "You're not half bad, Ted, I would probably say yes to a second date."

"Then I'll consider myself lucky," he raised his glass to her.

"There's a local band I like that'll be playing a pub on Friday." Nicki smiled at him. "Feel up to some new music?"

Ted smiled back at her, it felt good to feel wanted.

"I am always up for new music. When should I pick you up?"

"Be at mine at 7?"

"You can count on it." The server returned with Ted's card and Ted thanked him before sliding his wallet back into his pocket.

But Ted didn't count on how much his brain would spend the next two days wishing it was Vic he was seeing again instead of Nicki. Which made him feel like a right prat. Nicki was fantastic. She was spunk and energy. She was composed and self-sure. And she was interested in him. He should be excited, he should be thinking about how great she was, he should be forgetting Vic and moving on. All his self-berating didn't do anything to stop himself from thinking about Vic though. Ted found his brain constantly drifted back to Vic.

Thankfully, Thursday came with a small distraction, in the form of a phone call from a number Ted didn't recognize.

"Hello, is this Edward Lupin?"

"Yes," Ted frowned. "How can I help you?"

"This is Kevin Wilks, I'm the marketing manager at _Live Graphics_ , Nicki Choi gave us your resume."

"Oh, hello, yes, thank you for getting back to me so quickly."

"Yes, well, I must admit that your work with _Bread & Butter_ is impressive, but we're hiring for a higher-level position and I need someone with more marketing-specific experience. However, we do have an opening in sales, and if you'd like I can pass your resume over to them? I think you'd be exactly what they are looking for."

Ted held back his dejected sigh, "Thanks, Kevin, but I think I'll pass. I'm hoping to transition into marketing since that is my degree. I appreciate you reaching out to me though."

"I figured that would be your response, but I wanted to be sure. Nicki is a friend and I didn't want to let her down."

"Thank you, I'll be sure she knows you did your best."

Ted looked at his phone after the call had disconnected. Why did he somehow feel that this was going to push him to keep working with Vic? And why did a part of him want it to?

Finally, Friday night rolled around and Ted was grateful for the distraction. Pub hopping with Nicki was easy. It was something he could do without worrying about anything being official, without worrying about how his mind kept coming back to Vic.

"They're good, right?" Nicki stole one of his last chips as they listened to the band play, her pink shirt sparkled with glitter and Ted was positive that he was going to be finding glitter in his car for the next year.

Ted grinned at her, "They aren't my usual fare, but I admit they're growing on me."

Nicki bumped his shoulder and scooted closer. Ted let his arm fall around her shoulders. This was nice and he felt like he should be enjoying this more. He wanted it to feel like it did when he sat across the table from Vic at the chocolate shop. He wanted it to feel easy and encompassing.

Ted looked down at Nicki as the musicians took a ten-minute break and found her smiling up at him.

"Hey," her voice was quiet and Ted realized that if he wanted to, she was close enough for him to kiss her.

"Hey," Ted tried not to think about all the turmoil inside his head at that moment.

Instead, he kissed her.

Nicki tangled her fingers in his hair and Ted tried to keep his brain from comparing how different this kiss felt compared to the kiss he'd stolen from Vic. He tried to enjoy it. He tried to let it be the start of something new.

"Ted," Nicki pulled back just a bit, "are you not into this?"

Ted wanted to die.

"I'm an idiot." He sighed.

"Are you like, trying to figure yourself out?" Nicki put a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"No," Ted chuckled, "No, I'm just still not over her. I'm sorry, Nicki, this has been incredibly unfair to you."

Nicki tugged at his hand. "Let's go sit in your car. Maybe I can help you talk through this?"

Ted shook his head, "First of all, we're here to see your band play, and second, are you honestly telling me you want to hear me gripe about another girl?"

Nicki rolled her eyes. "Maira told me that you were struggling with a girl when she first called me. I knew you were hung up before I knew what you looked like."

"Wow, you certainly know how to boost a man's ego." Ted gripped his jeans.

"Come on," Nicki grabbed his hand, "I know the manager, she'll get us back in if we decide to keep going tonight."

Ted reluctantly followed her out to his car, but he had to admit, he was a lot less freaked out now that he wasn't surrounded by people.

"Alright, Ted, let's start with her name." Nicki kicked off her red boots and sat cross-legged in the passenger seat, her black leggings were partially covered by her long green socks.

Teddy leant his head back into the headrest.

"You're sure about this?"

"Come on, Hamlet, let's work through this."

Ted laughed, Nicki even used Hamlet jokes like Aunt Marlene and Aunt Lily. Why didn't he feel the way he did with Vic when he was with Nicki? She should have him wrapped around her finger. But no matter how hard Ted tried, he couldn't seem to connect with her the way he had with Vic.

"Alright, her name is Victoire."

"And…" Nicki threw her glove at his face.

Ted sighed and handed her glove back to her.

"And I work with her. She and I are the only ones in our office. I went and fell in love with her, and she accepted her boyfriend's proposal just before Christmas."

"Damn," Nicki turned up the heater.

"Yeah, and I was the dick that kissed her after I told her I had fallen in love with her." He looked over at Nicki. "This is where I'm expecting you to tell me what sort of sick lunatic I am and demand I take you home."

Nicki punched his arm, "Seriously, Hamlet, chill out. Should you have kissed an engaged woman, probably not, but did she kiss you back?"

Ted rubbed his arm, "I, er, I," then he smiled, "Yeah, yeah, she did kiss me back."

"Well, then obviously there's more going on. Any woman who doesn't immediately pull back and smack a man that kisses her who isn't the man she's currently engaged to, well, I would say that woman has a lot to figure out."

"I, er, I guess you have a point…" Ted trailed off as Nicki's words sunk in.

"Tell you what," Nicki pulled out two sticks of gum and handed him one. "Why don't you start at the beginning and tell me the whole thing. I'll be your relationship therapist for the night."

Ted took the gum but kept his eyes on Nicki. "Why are you so chill about this? I've been beating myself up since I met you because I thought I was using you to try and get over Vic. Don't you feel like I'm wasting your time?"

Nicki slid her gum wrapper in her clutch. "Ted, you're a good guy, but when we kissed, I just didn't feel anything. I would have called this over at the end of the night even if you weren't hung up on 'office girl' so let's just transition. I'd like to still be your friend if you can handle that."

Ted chuckled and wondered why he didn't feel put out that Nicki felt nothing when she kissed him.

"You're decent people, Nicki. Thank you."

Nicki shrugged, "Plus, I'm a sucker for a good story, so don't leave anything out. I want every sordid detail, Ted. That's my price for our friendship."

Ted was surprised at the relief he felt at knowing Nicki wasn't interested in dating him. And he was surprised at how tempting it was to unload everything to her. He hadn't done that with anyone else, he'd always left something out when he'd explained this before.

"This has to stay between us, Kalil doesn't know the half of this, and I'd like to keep being friends with him."

"Ooo, deep dark secrets, even better!" Nicki snapped her gum. "You, my friend, have a deal."

Ted laughed and leant his head back into the headrest. Then he started telling Nicki about the first time he saw Vic.


	7. Chapter 7

Ted read the text message from Sunday again.

**Ron: Ted, come to my office at headquarters on Monday at 8. I hope you're having a good holiday.**

Ted looked back at _Bread & Butter_ headquarters from the car park and took a deep breath. At least he didn't have to see Vic first thing.

Talking everything through with Nicki had taken the rest of that Friday night and well into the early morning of Saturday, but it had felt amazing to tell someone everything, every stupid detail. And Nicki listened.

That was what probably made the last week less hellish. Just having had someone listen to what his life had been like for the last six months and how he'd laid it all on the line for a woman who ultimately didn't want him, it had lightened the load and made him feel more confident in his decision to walk away from Vic entirely. It still killed him, but he had to move forward, he had to move on.

But first, he had to find out what Ron had planned for him, and whether or not it would be working in the same building as Vic.

"I'm here to see Ron Weasley," Ted nodded to Ron's receptionist.

"Ted Lupin?" He looked down at his computer screen.

"That's me."

"Go right on it," he motioned towards the door to the left.

"Thanks," Ted hiked his backpack up a bit higher over his shoulder and walked into Ron's office.

"Ted!" Ron stood and shook his hand. "Enjoy your holiday then?"

"It was good, thank you." Ted sat in the seat opposite Ron at his desk.

"Glad to hear it," Ron picked up a sticky note from his desk and squinted at it before shaking his head and tossing it in the bin. "So, now, on to the important things." He leant forward and smiled. "You might be surprised to know that I have big plans for the kitchen equipment side of this business, Ted. I want to turn this little department into its own venture."

Ted grinned, "Vic, and I suspected that was your goal."

"Brilliant the two of you are," Ron laughed. "Well, no beating around the bush about it then. Ted, I want you to be my front man. I've asked _Bread & Butter's_ Chief Marketing Officer, Branson Kilpatrick, to be your mentor but everything for _Weasley Commercial Kitchens'_ marketing is in your hands."

Ted felt his eyes trying to pop out of his head. "You're kidding!"

"Absolutely, not," Ron laughed. "You've proven your worth ten times over in the six months you've worked for me, and I know you're driven. With Branson helping to guide you, I have full confidence in your ability to market this company to the top."

Ted laughed as the adrenaline and excitement coursed through his body. "Wow! Thank you! I'm, I won't let you down, Ron!"

"I'm sure you'll do a fine job. Now, I'll need you to run over to that little office space and collect your things. You'll be moving into an office here so you can call on Branson when you need him and so he can check in on you."

Ted felt the elation rush out of him, and it was immediately replaced with anxiety. "Is, er, do you know if Vic is in today?"

"Oh," Ron frowned, "She didn't tell you? Vic quit the same day you called me about wanting to move to the marketing department."

Ted felt like the wind had been kicked out of him.

"Oh, er, alright, so I'll just go grab my things then."

Ron nodded, "Let me show you your office here first. You're having lunch with Branson and me this afternoon, and then tomorrow you're jumping headfirst into getting _Weasley Commercial Kitchens_ standing on its own two feet."

Ted followed Ron down the hall to what was probably a conference room but now housed several desks.

"You get the first pick of the desks. I'm going to be bringing in the rest of the team over the next few weeks." Ron gestured around the room.

Ted set his backpack down on one of the desks that faced out the window.

"I think I'll just take this one."

"Excellent," Ron looked at his watch. "I have a meeting to run to, but I'll be by with Branson at noon and we'll grab something to eat while we get you rolling on your new position."

"I'll be here," Ted nodded, "and thank you. I promise I won't let you down."

"You're the man for the job, Ted, I'll see you in a couple of hours." Ron headed back toward his office.

Teddy tested out the chairs before picking the one he liked best. It was a normal enough task to keep his brain from spiraling.

Vic quit.

Those two words echoed in his head as he climbed into his car and drove to the little office space. It seemed impossible. He knew that she wouldn't be there, but he honestly couldn't picture the office without her. She was so much a part of that space for him that even though he told himself she wasn't in there, his palms were sweating and his heart beat faster as he unlocked the door and flipped on the light.

Her desk was empty, barren of all the things that had been there before. Then he noticed that the office was also bare. The supply closet was open and empty. The card table and folding chairs were gone. The only reason anyone would know people worked in that space was that Ted's desk was still covered in his things.

Ted sighed; it was as though she'd never been in his life. He should be grateful for it, but he couldn't ignore the way that his chest ached at the thought of it. He couldn't wrap his head around it, but he had wanted her to be here. He had wanted to see her, even if it would have hurt more than he could bear, even if it would have been the worst thing for him, he had wanted to see her.

It didn't take long to pack everything into the printer paper boxes he'd snagged at _Bread & Butter_ and loaded into his car. Doing one more check of the office before locking it up for the last time, Ted shook his head. The one place that he felt somehow belonged to him and Vic was gone.

He managed to get his boxes up to his desk in the new office, but as he sat down to unpack someone knocked on the door frame.

"Ted Lupin?"

Ted spun in his chair to see a man with a stack of papers in his hand.

"That's me."

"I'm Fritz, I'm here to go over the paperwork with you to transition into _Weasley Commercial Kitchens_."

"Sound like a plan," Ted grabbed his laptop from his bag and motioned to the empty desks, "Why don't we set up over there."

The transition paperwork took what felt like an eternity and by the time they were done, Ted no longer had anything to do with _Bread & Butter_. He went back to unpack his desk, feeling even further from Vic than he had at their old office.

He needed to have this distance. He needed to move on. Even Nicki agreed that since Vic had chosen Sean, the best thing he could do was put space between himself and her. He had to move forward. He had to move on.

But he didn't want to and it sucked. Because a part of him hadn't been able to stop thinking about the way Vic's lips felt against his. A part of him could still feel her hip under his hand, her fingers laced through his. A part of him was trapped in that memory, and a part of Ted wanted to stay trapped.

"Ted Lupin?"

Ted turned to see a woman at the door.

"How can I help you?" He nodded.

"I just need to get the asset tag numbers for your laptop and dock set up." She lit up her tablet.

"Sure thing," Ted pulled out his laptop and set it down on his desk before getting his dock set up out of the boxes he packed it all in.

She was out the door in just a few minutes and Ted returned to unpacking but was again interrupted. Someone came by to confirm his information for business cards. Then someone else walked in to get his shirt size for company shirts. Right behind them was another person who needed a quick photo of him for the website until they could schedule a photographer for a professional headshot. Before Ted knew it, Branson and Ron were at the door ready for the lunch meeting, and Ted still hadn't unpacked.

"Don't sweat it, you've got time." Ron smiled. "Grab your laptop and let's head down to the main conference room. We'll order some food to be brought in and get this ball rolling."

Ted looked over his things before grabbing his laptop and following Ron and Branson out of the conference room turned _Weasley Commercial Kitchens_ headquarters.

It turned out that Ted was just a part of Ron's grand plan. He was going to have _Bread & Butter_ be the mentor to _Weasley Commercial Kitchens_ and bring in new people, young people, to be the chief executives.

"Do you have everyone already hired?" Ted asked as he popped a crisp in his mouth.

"Almost everyone, I need to find a COO, but I have the rest of the staff coming in over the next two weeks."

"I thought your niece was the COO?" Branson frowned.

Ron nodded, "She was, but she quit a couple of weeks ago, even after I offered her the position. I have some ideas though, and Athena is helping me narrow it down."

Ted nearly choked on his crisp and went into a coughing fit. Ron pounded on his back and Branson handed Ted his Diet Coke.

"Alright there, Ted? What got you to choke on your food?" Ron finally stopped pounding on Ted's back when Ted started to breathe again.

"I, er, I, I was just er, going to ask who Athena was." Ted lied.

"Oh," Ron sat down, "Athena Yazzie is my COO."

Ted nodded, but he had a hard time concentrating through the rest of the meeting. Had Ron told Vic what he was planning to hire Ted too? Did she know she walked away from the opportunity of a lifetime? Did she do it because of him? Or had Vic not wanted any of this in the first place? Had it all just been a joke for her when Ted had tried to teach her business? Had she been worried to make things awkward so she never told him she had no desire to learn what he was teaching her? Or was she running from him and his out of line behavior?

But whatever those answers were, it was obvious that Vic wouldn't be coming back to him. She had taken herself completely out of his life. She left what Ted would consider a dream career position to get away from him. She was going to move on, she was going to marry Sean. She would tell the story to her girlfriends in thirty years about the coworker that she had to run from because what kind of arse kisses an engaged woman? He would be a good laugh in the pages of her history.

Meanwhile, she would be the ache in his chest, the one who stole his heart but wouldn't ever be his. Vic would be the woman that kept a piece of his heart with her for the rest of his life. She was gone, and while he might move on one day, Ted knew that he'd never have the whole of his heart back. A portion of him was hers, and no one would ever be able to get that back for him.

The meeting took most of the rest of the day. It was nearly five when Ron and Branson decided they were finished for the day and gave Ted a stack of assignments. Ted was grateful for the distraction though. He felt like he might be able to bury himself in work and stop feeling the ache he felt over everything with Vic. Maybe if he worked hard enough, he'd forget about her and could try to live his life, move it forward, move on.

The events of the day had seemed to emphasize his need to move on. Everything was working to wipe Vic from his life, every memory surrounding her was slowly losing its place in reality. And while he knew it was probably a good thing in the grand scheme of his life, Ted felt that ache in his chest trying to collapse him, even with his brain knowing that he should be moving on.

Ted sat down at his new desk to finally finish getting his things settled. He pulled a folder from one of the boxes and opened it to decide where it ought to go, but stopped when he saw the top page.

There, written in Vic's loopy handwriting, was their antique time stamp machine sign.

A turquoise sticky note was at the bottom.

_Congrats! You're going to be amazing! - Vic_

Ted grabbed an empty folder and carefully placed the sign in it before putting the folder in his backpack. He'd finish unpacking tomorrow. He wanted to finish today knowing that Vic hadn't been completely removed from his life. No matter how much he probably needed to leave her memory behind, he didn't want to.

He didn't need to move on today. He'd start trying tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 8-14 are Vic's POV, and I promise these chapters are where the fun Tedoire scenes are going to come. Fluff is in sight friends! Our next chapter goes up on September 12th. =)

Victoire sat on her bed with her knees up against her chest. She didn't know what else to do.

"Vicky," Dominique stuck her head in. "Maman says it's time for dinner."

"I'll be there in a minute," Vic nodded.

"For someone who just got engaged, you're not as happy as I thought you'd be." Dom leant against the door frame.

"I'm having a rough day is all."

"More like a rough two weeks," Dom flipped her braid over her shoulder. "I still don't understand why you quit working with Uncle Ron."

"I just wanted something more in line with what I want to do." Vic pulled her knees closer to her.

"And what is that?"

Vic dropped her head to her knees. "Nevermind, tell Maman I'm not hungry."

Dom shrugged, "She'll probably come up here then, just warning you."

"Thanks, Dom, I'll take my chances," Vic muttered into her knees.

Vic heard her sister walking down the stairs but surprisingly, she didn't hear her mum coming up.

It was just as well, how would she ever explain to her mum that she'd kissed Ted when she'd just agreed to marry Sean a month earlier? And how would she say how hard it had been not to kiss Ted again? How she'd melted into him? How she still thought about kissing him? How tempting it was to call off her engagement and go running after him?

Vic hoped she would never need to explain it all, but once dinner was done, Fleur wasted no time confronting her daughter.

"Two weeks, ma chérie, two weeks," Vic felt her mum sit down at the foot of her bed. "Pourquoi?"

Vic shook her head against her knees, "I'm just having a rough go of it."

"No," Vic felt her mum shift on the bed, and then her mum's arms were around her shoulders, "No, there is something more, Je le sais."

Vic swallowed hard against the tears that she'd been fighting since Ted had walked away from her for the last time.

"Dîtes-Moi, ma chérie, you'll see, it will all feel a bit better if you do."

"Oh, Maman," Vic felt the tears press through her closed eyes.

"Je t'ai eu, ma chérie," Her mum pulled her closer.

Vic clung to her mum and gave in to the tears. She'd managed to keep them at bay for two weeks. She'd distracted herself by pretending to plan her wedding and pretending to look for a new job. But she couldn't hold them back any longer, and her heartache over everything was suffocating.

"I'm a terrible person!" Vic finally managed to get something other than her hiccuped breathing out.

"No, no, you are not," Fleur brushed Vic's hair back from her forehead. "Why do you say such things?"

"I, I kissed," the words were lodged in her throat and she didn't think she could push past them.

"You kissed?"

Vic felt her chest trying to cave in on itself, trying to create a black hole to suck her into.

"I kissed him, I kissed Ted."

"Ah," Fleur squeezed her arms a little tighter around Vic. "And this is why you turned down Ron when he wanted to make you a part of the new business?"

Vic nodded as the tears returned full force.

"Have you told Sean?"

Vic shook her head violently, "I can't! He'll be so mad!"

Vic felt her mum draw in a long breath and let it out slowly. "Do you know why you kissed Ted?"

"He," Vic bit her lip, "He told me that he loved me, that he'd fallen in love with me over the six months of working together. And I just, when he leant in, Maman I wanted him to kiss me."

She started sobbing again. What was wrong with her? She was in love with Sean...wasn't she?

"What did you say when he said he loved you?" Fleur ran her fingers through Vic's hair, trying to soothe her.

"I didn't know what to say!" Vic cried. "I just kept telling him he was my best friend!"

"Sean is not your best friend?"

Vic shook her head.

Fleur pursed her lips, "Vicky, you know I love you, but if Sean is not your best friend, why are you marrying him?"

"Because, because, I, I guess, I mean, I said yes when he asked..."

"And the boy can't be bothered to set a date to marry you," Fleur's voice had gone hard.

"I, I," Vic's voice cracked and she gave in to the sobs again; because her mum was asking questions she didn't have answers to.

"I am going to write a few things down," Her mum stood and collected a notebook and pen from Vic's desk. "I want you to take some time to think about them."

Vic wiped her eyes on her jumper sleeve, "Maman…"

"Non, ma chérie, first you must find yourself, then the answers will come. I can not give them to you."

Fleur set the pen and notebook at the foot of the bed. "If you get hungry, come down and I'll heat up a plate for you."

Then she kissed Vic on the forehead and slipped out of the room. Vic closed her pen in the notebook before she could look at her mum's writings. She already had a pretty good idea of what it said, and she didn't think she could handle those questions right now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Vic waited until everyone was off at work and school before she left her room the next day. It was easier to not have everyone trying to cheer her up, or asking about a wedding she didn't even know if she wanted now, or why she wasn't wearing her engagement ring all the time.

She'd taken it off on her drive home that Friday and every time she'd tried to put it back on she felt sick. She didn't deserve to wear it. She didn't deserve to wear something that signified love and commitment.

Vic tried to distract herself from that train of thought with making breakfast, but fate had other plans. Sean's picture lit up her phone screen as his call came through.

"Hi," She tried to animate her voice to sound happier than she felt.

"Hey, Vic, I need a favor. Mike is tricking out the Datsun for me today and I need a lift to my flat after work."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Vic forced a smile. "What time do you need me there?"

"I'm thinking of skiving off early and heading out at three."

"Ok," Vic took a deep breath, "Do you want to get dinner together?"

"Why don't we make something at my place?" Sean's voice was warm, and Vic felt her guilt trying to eat her from the inside out.

"That sounds wonderful. I'll see you at three."

"Thanks," Sean disconnected the call.

Vic looked down at the screen as she gripped her phone tightly. Should she tell him tonight? At least he wouldn't have a car to go anywhere if he was angry. Which meant he wouldn't end up with another speeding citation. That would be good. And he'd have to take an Uber if he wanted to go to a pub. That would also be good. But these good things didn't seem to do anything to ease the anxiety and dread that filled her like bile pushing at the back of her throat.

Breakfast now seemed like an unwise decision.

Vic settled for a cup of tea and retreated to her room again. Her notebook caught her eye and Vic decided there was no way she could feel worse right now, she might as well see what her mum had written down.

Her mum's crisp penmanship was daunting as Vic read the few lines.

_You and your desires are important._   
_You are a good person._   
_You are brave._   
_You must decide your life's story._

Vic blinked. None of that was what she'd expected.

Vic had expected more of the questions that she had no answers to. The same questions that ran through her brain constantly. The ones that she could hear distant echoes of the answers, and they were terrifying. And even more terrifying were the questions she wouldn't even allow herself to start to ask, because they held answers that made her lungs collapse and her eyes see stars.

But these four lines were strange. Firstly, because they weren't all true, Vic didn't think a cheating person could also be a good person. And secondly, because they weren't what Vic would have found helpful right now. Right now, she needed to know what to do, not have a list of things her mum thought about her.

Vic tried to put it from her mind and opened up her draft of her book again. If only she really could escape to this world she'd built. She could function there better than she could here, at least she liked to think she could. But who knew, maybe she'd find that she was as much a failure in her own world as she was in the real one. The fact that she could tell something was off with her story only reinforced that feeling. Vic spent the next several hours digging through her notes in her manuscript trying to find what was wrong to no avail. She'd done this a few dozen times before already, and like those previous failed attempts, this time around came up with no improvement.

She'd been planning to see if Ted wanted to read through it for her and try to help her get to the bottom of the story's problem, but that plan was obviously out the window.

When it was time to go, she put the manuscript on the back burner again, took a deep breath as she slid her engagement ring back on her hand, and jumped in her car to collect Sean.

Seeing him waiting by the curb made her stomach hurt.

"Hey," Vic smiled as he climbed in. "Do we need to stop at the market on the way?"

"Change of plans," Sean grinned. "Mike finished early, we need to go grab the Datsun, and then I'm taking her to the track."

Vic blinked.

"Oh, alright, where is Mike's? You've never taken me there."

"You know what, it's hard to get to. Why don't you let me drive?"

Vic gripped the steering wheel.

"I'm sure if you just tell me where to go, I can get us there without any problem."

Sean traced her chin and tipped his sunglasses down this nose. "Come on, don't be that girl."

Vic could feel her guilt trying to eat her stomach while her anger tried to burn through her chest. But rather than let either emotion vent out, she undid her seatbelt.

"There's my girl," Sean kissed her, but Vic pulled back and opened the car door.

"We better hurry so we can get your car to the track. Do you want to get dinner after?"

"That's a good idea, you should grab something and bring it to the track."

Vic stared at him after she climbed in the passenger seat.

"Aren't we going to make dinner at your flat?"

Sean pulled out of the car park.

"I'm going to need to be working out how these upgrades are working out, Vic. This is going to take the rest of the afternoon and most of tonight. Not everyone can work on a '78 510 Coupe and I only let Mike do it because he's a friend. I'm going to have to figure out everything that he's screwed up so I can fix it all this weekend."

"Dinner tonight was your idea," Vic felt her voice going shrill and tried to breathe.

"Yeah, but things changed. I still want to do dinner; I just want to do it at the track now."

Vic tried to ignore how angry she was. She tried to ignore how hurt she was. She tried to tell herself that this was her being selfish, and she needed to take an interest in Sean's interests.

She tried.

But by the time they made it to Mike's garage, she was fuming.

Sean undid his seatbelt and Vic locked the doors before he could get out.

"Why won't you pick a date to marry me?"

"Come on, let's not rehash this again." Sean unlocked his door but Vic hit the power lock button again.

"No! Do you even want to marry me? Why did you ask if you won't set a date?!"

"Vic, I love you," Sean tried to unlock the door again but Vic was faster.

"Then why won't you set a date?" Vic felt her volume increasing but she didn't bother to monitor it.

"Why is this so important to you? What's wrong with being engaged for a few years?"

Vic felt the air sucked out of her lungs.

Sean took advantage of her shock and escaped the car. Vic watched him walk into the garage, her driver's side door still open from where her fiancé had run.

_A few years._

Those three words echoed in her mind. Sean wanted to be engaged for a few years before they set a date. Vic was sure there was someone out there who thought that was a good idea, but she was not that someone.

Slowly, she stepped out of the car. Her feet carried her inside where Sean was talking with Mike. She slid the engagement ring off her finger and grabbed his hand.

"I'll leave your key in your flat." She set the ring in his palm and turned on her heels before marching out the door.

"Vic! Wait!"

She didn't wait. And when she got into her car, she saw that Sean wasn't running after her. Just as well, he obviously didn't want to marry her, why would he actually work for this relationship?

Vic felt numb as she drove to Sean's flat. She didn't cry as she loaded all of her things into grocery sacks she'd found. She didn't flinch as she left her key on his bedside table. She didn't bemoan when she closed his door for the last time.

It wasn't until she was driving home that Vic realized she hadn't told Sean that she'd kissed Ted.

The numbness made her brash and she popped in her headset and called him.

He sent her straight to voicemail, which seemed to solidify Vic's resolve. If he couldn't be bothered with her call then she wouldn't be bothered to tell him this properly.

"Hey, I was going to tell you tonight that I kissed someone that wasn't you a couple of weeks ago. I don't think that matters much now since you didn't want to marry me, but I felt like you should know."

She hung up and suddenly hot angry tears started falling down her face. Her sobbing came in short gasps and Vic had to pull the car to the side of the road because she couldn't see through her tears.

It was all so messed up!

Why had she even been with Sean? Why had she put up with all the things that drove her mad for so long? Why hadn't she been brave enough to get out of the relationship when she'd first realized she was unhappy? Why had she tried to convince herself she was happy?

But what hurt worse than anything else was that in all of this mess, she'd lost Ted, she'd lost her best friend.

When she'd finally cried herself out, Vic drove home. First, she went through and slowly removed all traces of her and Sean together. She deleted every picture of them together. She pulled down every mention of him in every post. She unfollowed, unfriended, and blocked him on every platform. Then she took her wedding binder, pictures of her and Sean that she'd printed off, and everything that reminded her of him and threw it all into the fireplace. She sat on the floor with her knees against her chest and watched the flames slowly smolder everything she'd wanted to destroy.

"Vicky?"

Vic looked up at her dad's concerned face.

"It's over," she sniffed, "and you were right."

Bill was instantly on the floor next to Vic, his strong arms holding her close.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"Why am I so stupid?" Vic curled into her dad's embrace and let the tears fall again.

"You aren't stupid. We all have moments like these."

"You don't," Vic sniffed. "You do everything right."

Bill laughed. "Victoire, look at my face and my arms. That motorcycle accident before I married your mum was me being brash. I went for a ride on the beach without my helmet, and I over judged a corner. I'm lucky I only ended up with the scars. Trust me, Vic, I'm far from perfect."

"You didn't get engaged to someone you had been trying to convince yourself you loved."

"No, but you figured it out and called it off," Bill squeezed her shoulders.

"Did Maman tell you what I said last night?" Vic figured her dad would be disappointed in her for what she'd done. She had been avoiding him for fear of what he'd think.

"She did, and I can see where you were coming from."

Vic's head shot up, "What?"

"Well, when someone isn't loved by the person kissing them, it makes sense that when a different person comes along who does love them and does treat them the way they deserve, that they'd be inclined to kiss that new person."

Vic curled further in on herself, "It wasn't fair to Ted, though."

"No," Bill stroked her back, "but I would take some time to figure out how you really feel before you go running back to Ted."

"Ted's great!" Vic defended.

Bill chuckled, "He may be, but you just called off your engagement, Vicky, and you quit your job. Take some time to sort out what you want your life to look like before you go jumping into anything, especially a relationship."

Vic rested her head against her dad's chest and nodded.

"Alright," Vic sighed as the flames turned the last of the items in the fireplace into black charcoal. "I'll take some time to figure myself out."

Bill kissed the top of her head.

"You've got this, Vicky, I know you do."

And for the first time in months, Vic thought maybe she might be able to at least do one or two things right.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters this week for Prongsdamnyou :) and also because I finished chapter 18 this week and I want to get you all to the fun parts! This is going to be so much fun, my friends! Next chapter goes up on September 19th.

Sean showed up at her house almost a month after she had called off their engagement and attempted to erase him from her life. Dominique slammed the door in his face, and if she'd simply shut the door, Victoire might not have ever known. But the slamming of the door, while Vic was reading in the front room, was enough to get Vic's attention and she went to go see what the fuss was about.

"No, Vic!" Dominique went running back to the door, but it was too late.

"Sean?" Vic stared at him.

"Hey, Vic, I, er, I wanted to talk to you." Sean looked unsure, an expression she'd never seen on him before. "And, since you blocked every way for me to get in touch with you, I thought this would work."

"Oh," Vic wasn't sure what to do.

"Can I come in?" Sean pushed his sunglasses up.

Vic shook her head, "No, but we can talk out here, I'll grab my jumper."

She shut the door and turned to look at Dom.

"You don't have to talk to him, Vic." Dominique grabbed her arm. "You can tell him to bug off and never come back."

"Dom, I told him I would marry him last year. I at least owe him this." Vic pulled on her shoes and reached for her jumper.

"No, you don't owe him anything." Dom shook her head.

"I'll be fine," Vic hugged her sister. "And if I need you, I'll just come inside, alright?"

"I'll watch you from the window in Dad's study. If you need me just throw out the peace sign." Dom hugged her back tight.

Vic laughed, but she was secretly grateful for the out. Knowing that Dom would come out guns blazing at her signal gave her a bit more confidence.

"Thanks, Dom."

Vic opened the door and found Sean still standing on the top step.

"What did you want to talk about?" Vic wrapped her arms around herself.

"That should be obvious," he scoffed.

Vic bristled. "Look, if you're just going to be a dick to me then I'm going back inside and you can bug off."

"Vic, wait," Sean reached for her but stopped himself and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I just, I don't know what happened."

Vic leant against the door and sighed.

"Sean, we weren't a good match. I didn't communicate with you, and any time I was unhappy I tried to convince myself that I was being selfish and that I needed to change to be what you wanted."

"But we had fun, right?"

"I mean, yes, there were some fun times, but Sean…"

"Can't we go back to that?" He stepped closer to her. "I thought we had a good thing, Vic."

Vic shook her head. "Sean, I can't do this again. I can't be with someone who I'm trying to be a different person for."

"Is it the other guy you kissed? Is that the problem?" Sean growled.

His tone set her teeth on edge and Vic snapped.

"No! I haven't even spoken to him since I kissed him! I felt like a whore after I kissed him! I thought I was an awful person! But I realized that what made me an awful person wasn't that I kissed someone while I was engaged to you, it was that I had lied to you for our entire relationship! Every time I felt unhappy, I told myself that I was wrong. I spent our entire relationship telling myself that if I just tried harder to be what you wanted that I would be happy! I lied to you and myself and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that I tried so hard to love you that I didn't walk away before we both ended up hurt. I'm sorry this blew up the way it did. I should have been honest with you when I was unhappy; I should have told you when you did things that upset me; I should have had those hard conversations with you, and I didn't. And for _that_ , I'm sorry."

Sean stood there for a long moment processing her words, and Vic pulled her arms tighter around her as she waited for him to say something.

"I knew you were unhappy." He finally responded. "That was why I proposed. I thought it would make you happy."

Vic stared at him, "Did you even want to marry me?"

"I don't know, I figured that we could get there, that with time I'd be on board for it." He sighed and his shoulders slumped forward. "Saying that out loud makes me feel like a prick."

Vic gave him a small smile. "Sean, we weren't a good match. I think we both wanted this to work, but we just aren't right for each other."

"Yeah," he let out a long breath, "I think you're right. I'm sorry, Vic. I guess I wasn't honest either." Tentatively he held out his hand. "Can we part on good terms?"

Vic looked down at his hand before chuckling and stepping forward to hug him.

Sean froze before wrapping his arms around her. Vic was surprised how it didn't feel like it had when Sean had held her before they broke up. It didn't feel like anything at all.

She stepped back and smiled, "Yes, I'm sure you'll find an amazing girl someday that will want nothing more than to watch you race that car all day."

Sean grinned, "That sounds like a lot to hope for, but thanks. Are you going to call that guy that you kissed?"

Vic shook her head. "I don't think so, I shot him down. I'm sure he's moved on."

Sean gave her an incredulous look, "I doubt that."

"What?" Vic furrowed her brow.

"All I'm saying is that I spent the last month freaking out because you were gone, and we've established that both of us were in this relationship for the wrong reasons. If this guy was willing to kiss you while you were wearing an engagement ring, then he's either an arsehole, or he's somewhere wondering if he'll ever find someone that will measure up to you."

Vic chuckled. "Thanks, Sean. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"You too." Sean pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes and walked back to his car.

Vic watched him go, wondering if he was right about Ted. She was sure Ted wasn't an arsehole, which meant that if Sean was right, Ted was still in love with her. And she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she'd fancied him from the moment he'd walked into their office. Vic had thought that maybe she loved him too when he confessed his love to her. It was why she had kissed him back, why she had moved into him instead of pulling away; she had fallen for him too, she'd fallen hard. But she'd been riddled with guilt and shame over it and spent every moment denying it, denying that he was anything more than her best friend.

As Sean's car disappeared around the corner, the thought of Ted's lips on hers pulled a smile out of her, and Vic wondered if maybe Sean was right, and someday she could have a chance with Ted again. She doubted it, but it was nice to dream a little bit.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was nearly another month later that Vic admitted that she was probably going to need help finding a job. She'd been applying and trying to find anything that was even remotely within her degree and coming up empty-handed. Vic knew someone who could help, but she had sort of been avoiding that person because they happened to be another specific person's godmother.

But she'd had nearly three months of making no progress on her own, and Aunt Ginny was the Sports Editor for one of the biggest newspapers in the country. She would know of something that Vic could apply for at the least. So Vic swallowed her pride and dialed her aunt.

"Vicky!" Aunt Ginny's voice sounded through the phone. "I've missed you! How are you?"

"Hi, I, er, I'm alright. I was, er, hoping I could ask for some help." Vic twisted a lock of hair around her finger and tugged on it to try and distract from how nervous she felt.

"Of course, say the word, and your favorite aunt will sweep in and save the day."

Vic chuckled, Aunt Ginny loved to be the one to solve problems, especially those of other people.

"I'm having a really hard time finding a job in communications, and I was hoping you'd be willing to help me."

"Of course! Why don't you come for dinner tomorrow? We can take the evening to polish up your resume and talk about what you're hoping to find. You can put me down as a personal reference as well."

Vic let out a huge breath in relief. "Thanks, Aunt Ginny. That sounds amazing."

"It's my pleasure, sweetheart. Come around six and we'll get you all set."

Vic felt just the slightest bit better after she hung up with Ginny. She was still nervous that Ted would be brought up at some point, but she was pretty confident that she could keep the conversation focused on finding her a job. Besides, it wasn't like Ginny knew anything that had happened between her and Ted.

At least Vic hoped that she didn't.

And when Vic showed up at the Potter's the next evening, she was grateful that the topic of Ted didn't come up once while she ate with them.

"Do you want to stay for a movie with me when you're done with Mum?" Lily asked hopefully as Harry brought out the pudding.

Vic grinned, "Sure, Lily, I'll watch a movie with you once your mum and I finish everything."

"You boys should hurry," Harry looked at his watch. "Your showing is at eight?"

Jamie shoveled half of his blackberry crumble in his mouth and nodded to his dad.

Al rolled his eyes.

"We'll be fine. It's barely seven." But he did cram a large mouthful of crumble into his mouth too.

Vic chuckled as she added a healthy dollop of cream to her crumble and tucked in.

The boys finished quickly and went to get ready for their movie while Vic and Lily helped Harry and Ginny to clear the table and clean up the dishes.

"Maybe you could have a sleepover?" Lily grinned up at her and Vic laughed.

"Do you really want your old cousin to have a sleepover with you?"

"Yes!" Lily grabbed her arm. "You used to have sleepovers with me before you started dating Sean and I thought that since you aren't with him anymore, we could start having sleepovers again."

Vic looked up at Aunt Ginny who shrugged but wore a big grin.

"You'll have to ask your mum if I can borrow some PJs." Vic grinned.

Lily screamed and wrapped her arms around Vic's middle. "I'm so excited! I'm going to get the nail polish out and all the pillows and blankets into the den!"

Vic watched Lily go running out of the kitchen and laughed.

"Thank you," Ginny wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "She loves to think of you as her big sister."

"I'm quite a bit older than her, or Jamie for that matter." Vic chuckled.

"Yes, but you're only a year or so younger than Teddy," Harry rinsed the last dish.

Vic felt herself freeze at the mention of Ted.

"Dad!" Al called from the entry. "We're ready to go!"

"Duty calls," Harry dried his hands before kissing Ginny. "I'll be right back after I drop them off."

"Have fun!" Ginny called after the three of them. Then she turned to Vic. "Why don't you let your parents know that Lily's roped you into a sleepover and then we can start working on helping you find a job."

Vic was grateful for the distraction. She also could have hugged Al for stopping the conversation she'd been having with her aunt and uncle. Hopefully, that would be the only mention of Teddy she'd need to worry about this evening.

"Now," Ginny sat with her at the kitchen table. "First I want to know how your book is coming."

Vic's heart dropped to her feet and she looked down at her keyboard.

"Oh, it's, I don't think it's going to go anywhere."

"It's a full draft though, right?"

"Yeah," Vic bit her lip, "but I can tell something is off, and I don't know what it is or how to fix it, so I think it's probably just going to sit on my computer forever. It isn't ready for an editor, let alone to query."

Ginny pursed her lips. "Do you like writing?"

Vic felt a shy smile pull on her lips.

"It's my favorite thing to do. I love making up stories."

Ginny hummed. "Maybe let this one sit, you've been working on it since university, right?"

Vic nodded.

"I'm sure there are more stories in your head," Ginny put her hand on Vic's shoulder. "Why not try for another one. Meanwhile, let's see about getting you a position you could enjoy while you work on becoming a best-selling author."

Vic laughed; she didn't honestly believe she would ever be able to make money as an author. But it was nice of Aunt Ginny to suggest she could.

It took a good two hours to figure out what jobs would be ones that Vic would enjoy doing, along with updating her resume. When they'd finally finished, Vic was glad she had the sleepover with Lily. Watching a romantic comedy and painting Lily's nails felt like the perfect way to decompress after how stressful that had been.

"You girls need anything else?" Uncle Harry brought in a bowl of popcorn.

"Nope, thanks, Dad." Lily navigated the streaming service to the movie she'd picked out.

"We'll make breakfast for you tomorrow too, Vic. No sneaking out in the early morning." Harry winked at her.

Vic grinned, "Am I getting dosas?"

"Of course, that's pretty much the only thing I make for breakfast."

"Dad, this is a girls' sleepover," Lily whined.

"Of course, it is," Ginny stepped into the den and handed Vic a spare pair of PJs. "I sleep in Harry's old shirts, which would drown you more than they do me, so this is one of Jamie's shirts and a pair of my lounge pants. We'll get out of your hair now. The boys should be home in an hour or so from their movie, they texted that they're grabbing some ice cream first, but they'll probably just head right to their rooms."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Vic took the polish from Lily. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Night girls," Harry waved as he and Ginny walked out of the den. Vic smiled as she watched his hand grab Ginny's on their way out.

She wanted that.

But the thought was fleeting as Lily turned on the movie and pulled Vic down to sit next to her among the pillows and blankets. She painted Lily's fingernails bright red while the movie played in the background. Lily insisted on painting Vic's fingernails, and Vic settled on a turquoise color from the bin of nail polish. She had to hide her grimace when Lily exclaimed that it was just like Teddy's hair.

Poor Lily must have been exhausted because before the movie was even half-way through, she passed out cold. Vic decided to finish the movie and carefully positioned herself so her nails could dry without being in danger of scuffing them on the blankets.

It wasn't five minutes later that she heard Jamie and Al make it back home. They didn't bother to stop in the den on their way up to their rooms, and Vic was sort of grateful for it. This was the first rom-com she'd watched since she had accepted Sean's proposal, and she was far more emotional right now than she should be over Ann Hathaway and Chris Pine. She was just about ready to see if her nails were dry enough to grab the tissues and use this movie as an excuse to cry over her insane life when someone spoke from the doorway.

"Vic?"

She'd know that voice anywhere.

"Hi, Ted," Vic bit her lip as she turned from the television.

"I, er, I came to turn off Lily's movie. Figured she'd be asleep." Ted's hand went to the back of his neck.

"She's asleep," Vic nodded and paused the movie. The silence made Lily stir so Vic stood and started moving towards the spot where Ted stood. "We might wake her up if we keep talking in here, though."

"Right," Ted nodded, moving off to the side to let her pass. But as Vic moved to stand next to him in the doorway, Ted stared at her with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape.

"What?" Vic looked up at him. He was staring at her like she'd knocked the air out of him.

"You're, er, you're wearing my, my shirt."

"No!" Vic shook her head violently and felt her face grow hot. "Aunt Ginny said this was Jamie's shirt."

"Jamie's borrowing that one from me. I let him borrow it when he spilled his drink all over his front while at mine."

"Oh," Vic panicked. "I, er, do you want it back now?"

Ted choked on air and his face went bright red.

"I mean!" Vic felt her face burn hotter. "Not like, I mean, I can put on my shirt and then give you back this one!"

Ted gave her a weak smile. "Nah, go ahead and sleep in it."

Vic bit her lip and pulled her arms around herself.

"Ted, could we, could we talk?"

"Er, sure, yeah," Ted gestured to the kitchen and Vic followed him to the table.

"So," Ted rubbed his eyes, "How's Sean?"

Vic gripped her borrowed lounge pants, but immediately let go, worried she'd get tacky nail polish on them.

"We're over, actually." Vic set her hands on the table, forcing herself not to wring them and smear polish on her hands. Why had she let Lily talk her into painting her nails?!

Ted let out a long breath, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Ted, no, it's, it's a good thing." Vic wished her stomach didn't feel like it was going to cave in on itself and suck her into a black hole. "I, Ted, I, I messed up. I'm so sorry I hurt you."

Ted gave her a small smile, "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sorry I kissed you when you were engaged. That was a really bad move on my part."

Vic licked her lips and tried not to think about Ted kissing her. That was a dangerously slippery slope.

"I miss you." Vic looked down at her turquoise blue nails. Lily was right, they did look just like Ted's hair.

Ted leant forward over the table and ran his hands through his hair.

"Vic, I, I would be lying if I told you I didn't miss you too."

"Would it be weird if we were friends again?" Vic didn't dare look up at him. She had rejected him before and it would serve her right for him to return her in kind.

"I," Ted paused, "I guess we could give it a try."

Vic couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked back up at him.

"So, I could text you?"

Ted chuckled, "Yeah, you could text me."

"Brilliant," Vic felt lighter than she had in months.

They looked at each other in silence for a long moment, Vic smiling like an idiot the whole time before Ted finally cleared his throat.

"So, er, are you going to finish the movie?"

"Oh," Vic looked back at the den. She'd completely forgotten about the movie. "Yeah, I suppose I will."

"Want some company?" Ted didn't look at her as he asked the question, and it killed her.

"I'd love your company."

Slowly, Ted looked back up at her and gave her a small smile. "Have I missed the part where she tells off the wedding guests?"

Vic laughed, "Wait, you've seen it?"

Finally, Ted gave her one of his signature smirks she'd come to anticipate when they worked together.

"Vic, Lily is practically my baby sister. Of course, I've seen her favorite movie."

"Shall we then?" Vic laughed as she stood.

Ted smiled and walked behind her to the Potter's den.

Vic sat up on the couch with Ted, the thought of lounging in all the blankets and pillows with him seemed like a recipe for disaster. She had just managed to get Ted back in her life, she didn't need to lose him all over again, so she prudently sat on the couch. They laughed at how cheesy the movie was, and Vic let herself sit close to him. He made fun of the silly parts and bumped her shoulder when she told him to shush during the parts that she liked best. He didn't make a move, but just having him there was more than Vic could have ever hoped for. She was determined to simply be grateful that he was talking to her at all, let alone watching a movie with her.

But as the movie played on, Vic found it harder and harder to keep her eyes open, and at some point, she fell asleep.

The next thing she remembered was being shifted to lie down. Gentle hands pushed her hair away from her face. And then lips brushed her hairline.

"Sleep tight, Vic," Ted whispered.

And like magic, she was asleep again.


	10. Chapter 10

Vic woke up to the smell of Uncle Harry's dosas cooking in the kitchen. She rolled over on the small couch and lit up her phone screen. She blinked at the text notification that was time-stamped a little bit after one in the morning.

It was from Ted.

**Ted: Hey, I just wanted to let you know I went home last night after the movie ended. And I'm glad we're friends again.**

Vic felt her lips curve up as she remembered his lips on her hairline the night before. And then she smiled wider as she realized that she could think about it without feeling guilty. It felt amazing, to just be happy with nothing darkening the feeling.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Lily stuck her head in the den, "Breakfast is ready."

Vic stretched and looked down at her shirt - Ted's shirt. It was a simple blue t-shirt, with a worn neckline. She smiled and let the feeling of being in Ted's shirt make her giddy. Her dad's voice echoed in her mind to take things slow and get her life figured out before jumping into anything. But this wasn't jumping into anything, this was just loving the feeling of being in Ted's shirt. There was no harm in it. She was a single woman, after all, and she could fantasize about being in Ted's shirt all she wanted.

Vic walked into the Potter's kitchen with that dreamy feeling carrying her.

"Why are you wearing Teddy's shirt?" Jamie looked up at her with a furrowed brow.

Vic smiled, "Your mum gave it to me to sleep in. She thought it was one of yours. I can get it back to him if you'd like."

Jamie looked closely at her, "You know where Ted lives?"

"No," Vic took a dosa from the plate and started to fix it the way she liked, "But I could text him and ask."

Jamie's confused stare slowly morphed into a smirk, "Yeah, why don't you do that. Then I don't have to wash it again."

"I think you should keep it." Lily grinned. "It looks good on you."

Vic tried to laugh through the nervous feeling Lily's comment gave her.

Thankfully, Al moved the conversation onto different topics, and Vic managed to make it home without further mention of Ted.

She opened Ted's text for the millionth time and tried to write a response for what was probably the ten-thousandth time.

**Vic: I'm glad we're friends too. I told Jamie I would get your shirt back to you. Would you like me to meet you somewhere, or I could bring it to yours?**

Vic finally sent the message, still worried that it was going to come off all wrong. She worried, even more, when Ted didn't respond to her. Should she have made Jamie take the shirt back to him? Was he having second thoughts? Did he change his mind? Had she hurt him so much that he couldn't be friends with her, even though he said he'd try?

And then the worst thought entered her mind. What if he had moved on? What if he had found someone else? What if she had lost her chance?

Vic hugged Ted's now clean shirt to her chest and tried to push away the panic she felt. She didn't know anything for sure. There were lots of reasons that people didn't get to their text messages. Just because it had been five hours didn't mean that Ted had a girlfriend.

As Vic was starting to debate stalking his social media accounts, her phone chimed with Ted's return text.

**Ted: Thanks, would you be willing to meet me someplace? I'd like to talk with you some more.**

Vic bit her lip. What did he need to talk about? Was this a good talk about things, or the kind where he sets boundaries because he has a girlfriend? Or had he decided that this wasn't going to work out after all and he needs to tell her to get out of his life? She swallowed hard and sent her response.

**Vic: Sure, just name the time and place. I'm free indefinitely right now.**

Why did this have to feel so complicated? Why hadn't she dumped Sean the day Ted started at _Bread & Butter_? Where was the easy way things had been before she'd screwed everything up?

Vic was pulled from her spiraling by the chime of her text notification.

**Ted: Dinner tonight? There's a Vietnamese place near my new flat. Meet me there at 6?**

There was a map link with the text and Vic felt her emotions fire on all cylinders. Was this a date? Part of her wanted this to be a date. But another part of her was worried that if she acted like it was a date, she'd be wrong and ruin everything all over again. She settled for just accepting the invitation, there would be the rest of the day to agonize over what he meant.

**Vic: That sounds perfect, I'll see you there.**

Vic bit her lip, not sure what to do, so she did the first thing that came to mind.

"Dom," she stuck her head out her bedroom door. "I need help!"

"Vic?" Dom came out of her room. "What's wrong?"

"I think I have a date…?"

"You think?" Dom moved past her to sit on Vic's bed.

Vic nodded and gave Dom a very watered-down version of what had happened.

"Now he wants to talk over dinner. So, do I dress like it's a date, or do I act like this is nothing more than getting his shirt back to him?"

Dom shook her head. "No, we need to find somewhere in the middle." She stood up and went to Vic's closet. "Here, we'll start with jeans and boots."

"That's smart, that can go either way." Vic nodded and went to stand next to her sister.

"And let's go with," Dom bit down on her knuckle as she scanned Vic's closet, "This green t-shirt and this black sweater. The sweater is more date-like but you can ditch it if the vibe starts to feel like it isn't a date."

Vic set it all out on her bed and nodded. "Thank you so much. Will you help me with my hair and makeup too?"

Dom grinned, "Of course, you didn't think I'd let you see the love of your life without me making sure you looked your best, did you?"

Vic rolled her eyes. "Dom, I never said I loved him."

Dominique laughed, "Vic, you didn't have to. All the stories you would tell about Ted when you'd get home from work were enough. I knew you loved him within a month of you working with him."

Vic was suddenly very grateful that she'd left out all the details that would have only convinced Dominique further that she did in fact, still love Ted.

"Whatever, I'm going to hop in the shower, and then you can help me with my hair and makeup." Vic grabbed her robe and left without a backward glance.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Vic pulled up to the restaurant just a few minutes before six and tried to breathe through the way her heart was beating erratically. She was being ridiculous. This was Ted. This was her best friend. She had sat and had dinner with him usually twice a week while they worked together. She could certainly do it tonight. Vic took a deep breath and got out of her car.

"Vic," Ted called out to her from near the restaurant entrance.

Vic went to grab his shirt, but she paused when Ted started moving towards her.

"Hey," Vic bit her lip before looking over at the passenger seat, "I, er, I have your shirt."

Ted made it to her and grinned, "It can sit in your car for now. I walked anyway."

"Right, it can stay in here," Vic locked her car and shut her door with a shaking hand, wishing that her body would stop manifesting her anxiety.

"You look beautiful," Ted smiled at her and Vic silently thanked Dominique for helping her.

"Thanks, you look great too," Vic smiled as he ran a hand into his turquoise hair.

"Shall we?" Ted gestured to the restaurant and Vic pushed down her nerves a bit further before nodding and following Ted inside.

Once they were seated and their orders placed, Vic lost the battle with her anxiety and asked the questions she'd been obsessing about since Ted responded to her text.

"So, er, you said you, you wanted to talk?" Vic fidgeted with her napkin.

Ted leant forward over the table and nodded as he clasped his hands.

"Yeah, I, well, I guess I just have a lot of questions."

Vic wasn't sure if the relief that he didn't lead with 'I have a girlfriend' was strong enough to overpower the new anxiety of what questions Ted might have.

"Fire at will, Captain," She tried for a laugh.

Ted chuckled but dropped his gaze to his hands.

"Vic, I, I should have thought of where to start before now," he took a deep breath as he tried to collect his thoughts. Then he looked up at her, his amber eyes boring into hers.

"Did I imagine us? Did I imagine that you were interested in me? Was it all in my head?"

Vic swallowed and shook her head, "No, no you didn't, I just," she sighed, "I wasn't being honest with anyone, including myself. Every time I felt unhappy in my relationship with Sean, I told myself I wasn't trying hard enough. And then you came along, and I realized how happy I was around you. It made the lying to myself harder, and things with Sean got harder, and I was lying to him, and I was lying to myself about how I felt about you, and, yeah, those six months sort of sucked that way."

Ted nodded, "Yeah, that sounds about what it was like for me. I kept hoping that you'd walk into the office one day and have broken up with Sean and then I could come in and sweep you off your feet."

"I'm sorry," Vic looked up at him. "I'm not lying to myself about you now if that helps at all."

Ted gave her a smirk, "Dare I ask what you think of me?"

Vic felt her heart kick into overdrive and she looked down at her hands as they grabbed hold of her napkin on the table.

"I, I, Ted I kissed you back, I called off my engagement because you helped me realize that I didn't want to be with Sean, I, Ted, you're my best friend," she looked up at him, "I want to be with you."

Ted reached across the table and grabbed her hands as they wrung her napkin.

"I want to be with you too, Vic."

Vic thought she was going to pass out with how fast her heart was beating.

"You do?"

"Vic, I've spent the last few months throwing myself into work to try and distract me from how much it sucks not seeing you every day. I have our freaking sign taped up in my new office, and I taped your sticky note to it so it couldn't get lost. I tried to move on and it never worked out because all I could do was compare every girl to you, and how much I wanted them to be you."

Vic felt a shy smile break across her face.

"You found the sign?"

Ted squeezed her hand, "Yeah, and it made me believe that maybe things weren't completely over for us."

"I'm sorry I left without telling you. I should have explained things then, but I was so confused and then Ron wanted me to be his chief operating officer and I was torn up about everything and I just ran away."

"Vic, why did you turn down the job?" Ted looked down at his hand wrapped around hers.

"Because I didn't want to do it," she turned her hand over to hold his. "I loved spending time with you and learning from you, but Ted, I don't want to be in charge of a company. I want to write. I want to read. I want my job to be something I look forward to rather than something that I put up with. And I don't need my job to make me six figures to be happy. I just want to enjoy it."

"I'm proud of you then," Ted interlaced their fingers. "I was so worried that you had turned it down to get away from me, and that I had stolen that opportunity from you."

Vic felt her chest warm at his words and the feeling of his fingers intertwined with hers.

"You didn't take anything from me. And I'm hopeful that I'm going to find something new. Aunt Ginny knows of some minor assistant editor positions available and she's going to send my resume to them on Monday. So hopefully I'll get out of my childhood bedroom at some point soon."

Ted chuckled and went to say more, but the server brought their food and regretfully, Vic let go of his hand.

"So, how's Uncle Ron's new venture?" Vic mixed her vermicelli bowl with her chopsticks.

Ted swallowed his bite of banh mi and smiled. "It's amazing, Vic. I love it and I'm learning so much from Brandon and it's been insane but I, I want to go to work, and that just feels amazing."

"And you've got a new place out of it?" Vic grinned as the easiness between them finally felt like it was returning.

"Sort of," he chuckled, "Kalil, my old roommate, he's getting married and our landlord gave us the option to bail early so they could remodel the place. So, I would have needed a new place anyway, but the new position definitely opened up my options of places to look at."

"Look at you, you're going to be one of Forbes 30 under 30."

"Eh, I could do without all that," he smirked, "unless, of course, that would be something you'd find completely irresistible."

Vic tried to hide her smile but didn't manage it as Ted laughed.

"You already are pretty hard to ignore, at least when I have my head on straight."

"Hey," Ted kicked her foot with his, "we both made mistakes, but we're past that now, alright? No kicking ourselves over how those first six months went, agreed?"

Vic took a deep breath and nodded. "Right, what matters is that we're here now."

"And that you find me irresistible," Ted winked at her.

Vic kicked his foot, "You're twisting my words! I said you were hard to ignore."

"Well I'm saying you're irresistible," Ted ran his foot down her calf and Vic felt the action vibrate up her spine.

"You're a lot smoother of a talker than I remember," Vic felt the nerves she'd felt originally slowly shifting to the feelings of excitement and anticipation as Ted grinned back at her.

"I had to censor myself before," he shrugged, "but now I can be as open as I want to around you. And right now, that includes telling you all the things I wished I could have said while we worked together."

"You thought I was irresistible?" Vic laughed.

"I _think_ you're irresistible," he corrected her with a smirk.

Vic looked down at her dwindling bowl and bit her lip. "Would you let an irresistible woman drive you home?"

"I could be persuaded," he moved his empty plate off to the side and reached for her hand. "Especially if the said irresistible woman would be willing to see me again."

Vic laughed as they intertwined their fingers, "Yeah, I'd say she'd really want to see you again."

"Tomorrow?"

Vic laughed, "Yeah, I would see you tomorrow."

Ted smirked, "Wait we were talking about you the whole time?"

Vic kicked him under the table but didn't let go of his hand.

"You're impossible."

"I'm pretty sure the word you meant was irresistible," he teased.

The server brought their check over just then and Vic went to argue when Ted handed over his debit card.

"Ted…"

"No, Vic, not again. I asked you on a date and I'm paying for this, end of story."

Vic's heart shot back into overdrive at his use of the word date in relation to her.

"This has been a pretty amazing date," she felt her smile stretch wide across her face.

Ted held her gaze, "It could keep going if you wanted it to."

Vic bit her lip, "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, there's a pretty amazing gelato place in the next neighborhood over, and there's also ice cream in my freezer at my flat." Ted didn't manage to hold her gaze as he offered his flat as an option.

"I kind of would like to see your flat," Vic didn't manage to keep her gaze on him either as she responded.

"Yeah?" Ted looked up at her and caught her eye.

"Yeah," Vic toyed with one of the buttons near the bottom of her sweater; she felt giddy as he smiled back at her.

"Brilliant."

Ted held her hand as they walked out of the restaurant, and he placed his hand on her thigh as she followed his directions back to his flat. Vic felt like every touch was electric, and she wanted to feel this new electricity coursing through her forever.

"Home sweet, home," Ted led her up to his flat with her fingers intertwined with his.

Vic followed him inside to a sparsely decorated and decently furnished flat.

"It's not much," Ted tossed his shirt on the coffee table before shutting the door behind them.

"It's lovely, Ted," she smiled up at him.

"You're lovely," he stepped close to her and moved his hands to her waist.

Vic looked up at him and felt the same way she had when Ted had cornered her in the office - like time had stopped and it was just the two of them still moving.

"Ted," she whispered as she stepped closer to him, resting her hands on his chest.

"Vic," he dropped his face a bit lower, mingling their breaths, "I want to kiss you."

"I'm good with that," she smirked before pressing forward, meeting Ted as he dropped his lips to hers.

When Ted had kissed her before, Vic had been so torn about it that she hadn't allowed herself to enjoy any part of it without a huge amount of guilt following the feeling. But now, now Vic threw herself into the feeling of Ted's lips on hers, her hands on his chest, his hands pulling her closer, pressing into her back.

It was everything.

Ted pulled back a hair as he spoke against her lips, "Did you want that ice cream?"

Vic gave a small chuckle and slid her hands up his chest and around his neck.

"I'm not that hungry right now," she smiled against him, "but I wouldn't mind sitting down."

Ted smirked against her before kissing her again and stepping backward, pulling her toward his sofa.

"Well by all means," he pulled her closer, "take a seat."

Then he pulled her down to his sofa with him as she laughed and fell against him.

"I don't mind if I do," she repositioned herself before capturing Ted's lips again and letting herself simply enjoy the feeling of Ted's lips against hers, the way his skin felt under her hands, his hair through her fingers, and the security she felt as he held her as close as he possibly could.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early Update! The autumn colors are coming in where I live and tomorrow my little family and I are going to go enjoy them. Which means you get an update a few hours early! The next chapter posts on Saturday, September 26th. :)

Victoire managed to make it home after her family had gone to sleep, but she stayed up another hour on the phone with Ted. He'd made her promise that if she was going to drive herself home at one in the morning then she would call him once she was home.

But when Dom came in at nine and pounced on her bed, Vic's roughly six hours of sleep made her regret not giving into Ted's suggestion that it was late and she should just stay at his flat.

"Someone got home late," Dom sprawled out next to her, tugging down on the covers that Vic pulled over her head.

"If you knew I got home late why are you in here?" Vic threw her arm over her eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

"Because, I want to gossip with you about your new beau, obviously."

Vic felt the smile pull on her lips, even as she contemplated throwing a pillow at Dom for waking her up before she was ready.

"It was amazing, Dom."

Dom rolled onto her stomach and pushed Vic's arm away from her face.

"Did you kiss him?"

Vic didn't open her eyes, but she could feel the smile spreading across her face.

"Oh! Whatever could that smile mean?" Dom laughed. "Come on, Vic, I helped you pick out clothes and I did your hair and makeup!"

Vic finally batted her eyes open and smiled at her sister.

"Dom, it was amazing!"

"So, tell me!" Dominique shoved her.

"For starters, he called it a date." Vic smiled over at her sister.

"Ha! I knew it would be!" Dom cheered.

"And, he took me back to his flat after dinner," Vic rolled over to her side and propped herself up on her elbow.

"Oh, come on! Did you kiss him?" Dom moved to mirror Vic's position.

"We snogged and talked until one in the morning," Vic bit her lip and felt her toes curl at the memory of it all.

Dominique squealed loudly, "I knew it! I knew it! When are you seeing him again?"

"Today," Vic looked over at the clock on her wall. "I'm meeting him at his flat for lunch."

"Well then you should get up and get ready," Dom gave her a shove. "And while we're talking about how wonderful your night was; when do we get to meet your new lover boy?"

Vic felt her stomach clench, "I don't know about that yet. No one knows that we're together or anything except you."

"Ooo, secret relationship, kinky," Dom poked Vic's side and laughed.

"Stop teasing me and let me get ready for the day," Vic gave Dom a half-hearted shove. "I won't be able to give you more gossip if I don't make it to lunch with him."

"Off I go," Dom jumped up and moved to the door, "but I expect a full report when you get home."

Vic just rolled her eyes and wondered if maybe Ted would mind if she showed up earlier than they had decided on.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Vic bit her lip as she knocked on Ted's door. She was nearly fifteen minutes early and she was hoping that he'd be pleased as opposed to annoyed.

"Couldn't stay away?" Ted teased as he opened his door.

Vic just laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Don't try to deny that you haven't been waiting on the edge of your seat for me to show up; you were the one trying to keep me here all night yesterday."

Ted shook his head as he grinned.

"Still so torturous," then he lowered his lips to hers.

Vic sighed into his mouth and pressed Ted back against the door frame.

"What the hell?!"

Ted's head whipped up and he pulled Vic closer to him, tightening his arms around her.

Vic looked with him toward the sound of the voice. To her surprise, Jamie stood staring at them with his mouth hanging down by his trainers.

"What are you doing?!"

"Welcoming Vic to my flat," Ted rolled his eyes. "Did you need something, Jamie?"

"You two are together?" Jamie's eyes were still wide.

Vic laughed, "Yes Jamie, now did you need something or can I go back to snogging my boyfriend?"

Jamie shook his head, "I was just going to see if Ted could help me with an assignment, but er, I think I'll see if maybe _anyone_ else can help."

Ted chuckled, "Text me before you show up the next time, mate."

"You're as bad as Mum and Dad," Jamie shook his head, "I'll see you later."

He gave them one more incredulous look before turning and hurrying back down the stairs.

"Looks like the cats out of the bag," Vic chuckled.

"Did you mean it?" Ted brought his nose to nuzzle against hers.

Vic closed her eyes and hummed as she tried to kiss him, but he moved his lips to her ear.

"Did you mean to call me your boyfriend?"

Vic smiled and leant in to murmur in his ear.

"If you think I'm girlfriend material."

Ted moved his lips down her jawline and Vic felt her breath catch.

"I think you're quite a bit more than just girlfriend material," he murmured against her lips. Then he smirked. "You're author material and editor material and chocolate eater material and…"

Vic giggled and cut him off by pressing her lips to his.

"Take your girlfriend inside and make her some lunch, won't you?" She pulled back a moment later.

"So demanding," Ted stole one more kiss before pulling them inside.

"Do you think Jamie's going to broadcast this to both our families?" Vic asked as Ted moved with her into the kitchen.

"Oh, knowing Jamie, we can count on it." Ted rolled his eyes.

"Are you alright with that?"

Ted paused as he pulled out a box of pasta from the cupboard. He turned and leant back into the counter, gripping the edge behind him.

"I guess I should explain that my family more or less knows about you already."

"Did you text them all this morning or something?" Vic laughed.

Ted gave a nervous chuckle before looking down at the floor.

"Er, no, but, while we worked together, and especially after you got engaged to Sean, I went to them for support, told them a bit about what the situation was, asked for advice, that sort of thing."

Vic felt her stomach clench.

"Did, did that by chance, include my Uncle Harry?"

Ted rubbed the back of his neck, "Yep."

"Oh," Vic fell into a chair at the kitchen table, "How, how much does Harry know?"

"Only that I told you I loved you back in January," Ted finally looked up at her. "And I told him to keep it on my side of the family, it shouldn't have gotten around to your side."

"So, no one on your side knows that we kissed?" Vic bit her lip and started to wring her hands.

"None of my family, no," Ted looked down again, and his tone quieted.

"Wait, does someone on your side know?"

"Just a friend, she listened to me when I was freaking out about being such an arse for kissing an engaged woman."

"Oh," Vic nodded, "I guess I should tell you that I told my mum that I had kissed you, but I didn't give her much more than that. I told Sean I kissed someone, but he doesn't know it was you."

"I appreciate that," Ted's grip on the counter behind him was turning his knuckles white.

Vic rested her head in her hands and took a deep breath.

"Are, are we alright?" Ted's voice was quiet, timid even.

"I don't know," Vic sighed, "I just didn't think this part through, you know? I sort of thought that once we were together it would be sunshine and roses or whatever they advertise in those princess movies."

"Do you fancy yourself a princess?" Ted chuckled.

Vic turned and gave him a small smile, "Not at the moment, no."

Ted let out a long breath before pushing off the counter and coming to sit next to her at the table, grabbing her hands as they tried to rub her fingers raw and lowering them to the table with his.

"Vic, I know this is going to make things weird and awkward to some extent, but the best day of my life was yesterday, and I don't want to lose this a second time; I don't want to lose you."

Her chest ached as she tried to figure out what she wanted, how she wanted this to go. If she could only turn back time and dump Sean the day Ted started at _Bread & Butter_, maybe this wouldn't be so hard. Maybe she and Ted would have had a normal build-up to a relationship. Maybe this wouldn't feel like everyone knew that she'd been having an emotional affair for the last six months of her relationship with Sean. Maybe she'd feel less like she was tarnished in everyone's eyes.

"Vic?"

She lifted her eyes from their clasped hands and met his gaze, rich amber meeting deep blue.

"I'm not leaving," she sighed, "It just feels like now everyone knows what sort of girl I am."

Ted blinked.

"What?"

Vic shook her head and looked back down.

"Ted, you can't deny that I'm not going to be highly favored in your family, or with that friend that listened to you talk through what happened. You can't pretend like they aren't going to question whether I'll be faithful to you since I wasn't to Sean. What happened didn't paint me in the best light."

"Stop," Ted shook his head. "Vic, no, you've got it all wrong. You're amazing! There's no way they won't see that."

Vic shook her head, "I appreciate that you think I'm not a slag."

"Anyone who does is going to meet my fist," Ted growled.

Vic gave him a small smile, "I'm not going anywhere, I just think that your family might wish I would."

"They won't," Ted squeezed her hands.

Vic didn't believe him; she didn't see how anyone couldn't see what was happening and not immediately point out how manipulative her actions were. Especially when Ted and Harry were the only kids from that generation. How could these people not be protective of Ted?

"Hey," Ted brought a gentle knuckle to her chin and guided her face back up to his. Then he leant in and brought their lips together, all warmth and reassuring; his hand came to cup her face as his lips slanted over hers, holding her, pulling her closer.

"We're going to be ok," he smiled when he pulled back. "And I think that my girlfriend was asking for some lunch made by her boyfriend a moment ago, and I'd like to deliver on that."

Vic finally laughed, "Want a hand?"

"I'd love one."

Vic followed him to the counter and tried to ignore the knot that formed in her stomach, the knot that stayed throughout the rest of the day.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Vic made it home earlier than she had the previous night, which meant her family was still awake.

"Back before the crack of dawn, I see," Louis teased.

Vic gave a nervous chuckle.

"Be nice to your sister," her dad chided, "She always lets us know where she is and if she's staying where she is."

"If she had her own place, she could do whatever she wanted," Dominique chimed in.

"You only want her to move out so you can switch rooms." Louis shot back.

"She has the better view of the ocean; of course, I want to switch rooms."

"Well, if one of the leads Aunt Ginny has for me works out, maybe you will get to switch rooms with me." Vic moved to the stairs. Dom winked at her.

"Or you just move in with this bloke," Louis called as she started to climb.

"Louis!" Her mum swatted him with her magazine.

"Ouch! Maman!"

Vic smiled, it didn't sound so bad, living with Ted. And based on the way everyone acted, it sounded like Jamie hadn't texted her family and told them everything. At least her cousin hadn't completely freaked out. But she was sure of one thing, Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry definitely knew.

But as she stepped into her room, Vic took comfort that at least they didn't know everything.

"Ma chérie," her mum tapped on the door frame.

"Hi Maman," Vic tried to breathe through the panic she felt that maybe her mum knew. Her mum tended to know everything.

"How was your date?" Fleur sat down on the foot of her bed.

Vic couldn't help the smile that grew across her face.

"It was lovely."

"And are you going to tell your poor maman who the lucky boy is?"

Vic bit her lip and looked down at what was left of her chipping blue nail polish, she'd conveniently left out the name of who she was with the last two days.

"Er, it's Ted, actually."

"The boy you worked with?" Her mum's smile was small but Vic could see it in her eyes that she was laughing.

"Yes," she sighed, "the one I worked with."

"Have you thought about the things I wrote down for you?"

Vic blinked. She hadn't looked at that page in her notebook since the first time she'd summoned the courage to read it.

"N-no, I mean, I read it back when you first wrote it, but, I, well I forgot about it." She finished lamely.

Fleur stood and moved to Vic's desk and retrieved the notebook.

"You and your desires are important," her mum read. "Have you thought about what you want, both now and in the future?"

Vic shook her head no.

"You are a good person. You are brave." Fleur continued, "Do you believe this?"

Vic swallowed and shook her head again.

"You must decide your life's story." Fleur set the notebook down. "What will you choose?"

Vic shook her head, "Maman, I don't get to just choose what my life is going to look like."

"No, ma chérie, you misunderstand me. You are not in control of what will happen in your life, but you are the leading lady. Life is going to send much your way, but you must choose how you react, you must choose what the story looks like. You have determined that because you are not the author, you must simply float along, doing nothing. This is not the case. Do your characters in your novel not help to shape their stories?"

Vic blinked, "No, because _I_ write them."

Fleur pursed her lips, "Think about what I've said, ma chérie, you might find that it's different than you think it is. Youth often makes us believe that things are only as we perceive them, but often we are simply not seeing the whole picture."

Vic sighed as her mum moved to wrap her in her arms. Leave it to her mum to make everything sound like a riddle.

"Thank you, Maman."

"Of course, ma chérie, and when you feel ready, we'd love to meet your Ted."

Vic felt her face grin of its own accord.

"I'll talk to him."

"Good," Fleur kissed her cheek and then slipped back down the stairs.

Vic watched her go and shook her head. Why did people who had never written a story think they knew anything about writing? But before she could really brood over that, her phone rang.

"Hey, Ted," Vic fell back onto her bed.

"Whoa, you alright? That was a very dejected sounding hello."

Ted's voice was warm and comforting and Vic felt herself falling into the embrace of it.

"I just have very well-intending family members who think they know what they're talking about."

"Did Jamie tell your parents? Because I _will_ dunk his head in a toilet or something."

Vic laughed, feeling her frustrations slowly fade to the back of her mind.

"No, no he didn't tell my family, I just, my mum seems to want me to find myself or something or other and she tried to use a writing metaphor, but my mum has never written a novel and it seemed like she was trying to point out what's been wrong with my story and I don't know, I'm just frustrated."

"I didn't know you thought something was wrong with your story."

Ted seemed focused on the wrong point, but Vic decided that she'd rather talk to him about her book than her family troubles.

"I, yeah, I know something is off, I just can't figure out what it is." She paused. "Before, before everything in January..."

"Vic, you don't have to dance around that," he interrupted. "You can say, 'before you kissed me while I was engaged' and it won't offend me."

She rolled her eyes, "Except when you include that I kissed you back."

Ted hummed, "Not like you did today."

"Will you focus," Vic laughed.

"Right, yes," Ted laughed with her, "You were saying that before you kissed me back with great reservation you were going to…"

Vic shook her head as she smiled.

"Yes, that I was going to ask you if you wanted to read the draft I have and let me know what you think?"

"I'd love to," Ted answered immediately. "Ooo do you have it printed off with red pen marks everywhere?"

"No," Vic laughed, "It's an online document, I'll send you a link."

She pulled her laptop to her from her night table and powered it on.

"I'm going to have to be careful," Ted's voice vibrated in her ear as she used her shoulder to keep her phone in place. "If I can read it on my phone then that means I can read it at work."

"You love your job," Vic rolled her eyes as she sent the email invite to view the doc. "And I doubt my little story is going to be that captivating."

"There's the first problem," Ted's voice was almost stern. "You need to think more highly of yourself, and what you create."

"Ted," Vic sighed.

"No, you're amazing and you need to believe you're amazing, Vic."

"Now you sound like my mum."

"Your mum sounds like a smart lady."

Vic laughed. "You're ridiculous."

"And you like it, so where does that leave us?"

Louis stuck his head in the door and nearly spooked Vic out of her skin.

"Vicky, Maman says dinner is ready."

"Thanks," Vic mouthed to her little brother.

"Well, I suppose that leaves us with me going to dinner like I'm still sixteen."

"I hope you're not still sixteen, I'll go to prison forever if you are."

Vic burst out laughing, "I repeat, you're ridiculous, and I need to go."

"Text me tomorrow, I'll start on your novel tonight."

Vic smiled as she pushed off her bed. "Thanks, have a good night."

"I'll do my best without you." Ted's voice betrayed his smirk.

"For heaven's sake, Ted, go make yourself some dinner or something!" But she couldn't keep from laughing.

"Alright, alright, enjoy your family, I'll talk to you soon."

They disconnected and Vic felt like maybe it wasn't so bad to have her family meddling in her life if she got to spend time on the phone teasing Ted as well.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have a fabulous week because you're a wonderful person! Our next update will be on Friday, October 2nd!

"Have you been reading my detailed comments?" Ted asked as his thumb drew patterns on the back of Vic's hand. He'd read straight through her novel two weeks ago, then went back and had been spending the last week adding comments to her document.

Vic rolled her eyes as they walked up the drive to the Potter's home and tried to calm the nervous feeling that was trying to overpower her. Nervous because knowing she and Ted had been invited as a couple seemed to put a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

"Ted, you're leaving comments on every paragraph. How do you expect me to read that many comments? It's a hundred-thousand-word document! Especially with starting my new editing job on Monday?"

"You're an author, doesn't that mean you love to read every critique of the work you create?" He teased.

Vic shoved his shoulder with hers but smiled.

"You're ridiculous, you know?"

"Yes, but you're the one holding my hand, so where does that leave you?"

"Nervous about being here tonight as your girlfriend rather than only their niece," she admitted quietly.

"Hey," Ted stopped them and pulled her into him, "Harry and Ginny love you and there is no way they aren't happy for us, so please try to trust that they aren't out to get you."

Vic nodded but she couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was out to make Ted see what a bad choice he made in giving her a chance.

Ted rapped his knuckles against the old door and they were both swept into a warm hug once Ginny opened.

"Vicky! Teddy! Come in, come in!"

"Thanks, Ginny," Ted grinned as he kicked off his shoes. "You should know that Mum and Dad are going to be supremely jealous when I tell them I brought Vic here before I brought her home to meet them."

Ginny shook her head at his teasing. "Teddy, dear, Victoire is my niece. I knew her for two decades before you did."

"But you also knew me for the same time before Vic knew me, so I'd say it cancels that out." Ted grinned.

Ginny looked heavenward and laughed. "Why do the Marauders have to leave their mark on every male in this family?" She turned to Vic. "Would you believe that even my sweet Al was trying to be a smart mouth the other day?"

Vic laughed, feeling the nervous pit in her stomach start to ease just a bit.

"Al? Really?"

"Al's better at it than the rest of us." Ted walked with them into the kitchen. "He's more like my dad, and Dad always manages to get the best of the other three brothers."

"Heaven help me, then," Ginny chuckled.

"Why ask for heaven's help when I'm right here?" Harry winked at her as she moved to help him with dinner.

"You're a legacy of the problem, love." Ginny leant over and kissed his cheek.

"Ginny is bemoaning the way the Marauders are rubbing off on Al." Teddy sat down at the table and pulled Vic down with him.

"Bemoaning?" Ginny's eyebrows shot up and she turned to glare at Ted.

Vic covered her smile with her hand.

"I'm a simple man, Ginny," Ted grinned, "I use simple words."

Harry turned and Vic could see he was putting a great deal of effort into not laughing.

"You're in an odd humor today, Ted."

Ted shrugged, "I'm happy."

Then he grinned over at Vic and squeezed her thigh. Vic felt the shy smile break across her face and knew there was no way she could stop it.

"Hands above the table!" Jamie shouted behind them, causing Vic to almost fall off her chair.

Vic turned to glare at her cousin feeling her face heat up, unconsciously directing some of her anxiety into the anger that bubbled at his surprising her.

"Are you going to make a habit of tormenting us every chance you get?" She shot at him. Why couldn't Jamie just leave her alone?

"Whoa," Jamie held up his hands, "I'm just playing Vicky, you know it's all in good fun."

Vic huffed, "You've never done this to me before."

"Yeah, well, Sean was a bit of a prick."

Vic felt like Jamie had just kicked her in the chest. She knew she and Sean hadn't been right for each other, but she hadn't thought he was an awful person.

"James!" Ginny gave her son a pointed stare.

"What?" Jamie defended as he pulled a soda can out of the fridge. "We all knew he was; it just took Vicky a while to see it. But she saw the light in the end and now she's with Ted and we can all breathe easy again."

Vic dropped her eyes down and realized she was wringing her hands. Did everyone feel that she had been dating a prick? Was the whole family talking about her poor choices behind her back, not saying anything because they all believed she wouldn't listen to reason? If everyone knew Sean was awful, why had no one made a point of showing her?

"Why don't you see if Al or Lily needs anything, Jamie?" Harry stepped between his eldest son and his wife, who was staring at the teen with menacing eyes.

Jamie glanced between his mum and Vic and then looked at his dad. "Yeah, good idea."

"Are you going to talk to him?" Ginny turned her dangerous glare to Harry.

"I'll talk him through it, love," Harry soothed, giving her a quick kiss. Ginny pursed her lips before seeming to decide to let it lie for now.

"I'm sorry," Vic kept her focus down at the table. "I shouldn't have goaded him."

"You're fine, Vic," Ted moved his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. "We're all a bit difficult when we're teenagers."

Vic bit her lip and leant into him, trying to take as much comfort as she possibly could in the warmth of his embrace.

"Are you excited about your new job?" Ginny asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Vic smiled, "I am, but I'm a little nervous too. I didn't really think that I'd get this one when you sent it to me. Most people I know write for a long time before they become assistant editors."

"But you have been writing dear," Ginny handed Harry the oven mitts and he pulled out the shepherd's pie that Grandma Molly made him teach her how to make. "You were the sole creator of Ron's initial website for his new company, all that text was put there by you. You handled the blog, you handled the page information, that site was all you."

"Plus your book," Ted added. "That's a lot of writing experience."

Vic started to object again but Ginny held up her hand.

"You'll do just fine, dear. I've known Emmeline for almost as long as I've known Harry, she wouldn't have hired you if she didn't think you were right for the job."

Vic nodded, but she still felt nervous. Why did it feel like everything made her nervous these days? Harry moved the large pie to the table and Vic tried to use it as a way to change the subject. She was done having the conversation revolve around her questionable life choices

"This is one of my favorite meals." She gestured to the shepherd's pie.

Ted hummed his agreement. "Aunt Lily's shepherd's pie is pretty amazing."

"I thought it was Uncle Harry's recipe?" Vic turned to him, grateful that Ted pushed the conversation away from the topics that made her stomach clench.

"Who do you think taught me how to make it?" Harry chuckled.

"I guess I forget sometimes that you and my aunts have families outside of us." Vic felt a bit sheepish. "I'm sure Aunt Hermione and the rest of them have recipes that are their parents' too, huh?"

Ginny laughed loud and Harry smiled at Vic's confused face. "Have you ever noticed that your Aunt Hermione doesn't tend to cook much? Yes, her parents have recipes they've passed down, but they've passed them down to Ron. Hermione hates cooking."

Vic chuckled and was grateful when Ginny suggested she and Ted collect her cousins for dinner. And thankfully the Potter brood managed to keep the conversation spinning well enough that Vic was able to just sit back and enjoy. But her initial feeling of dread seemed well justified when Uncle Harry asked her to help him with getting the pudding out later that evening.

"Vicky," Harry handed her a stack of plates, "How are things?"

"Fine," Vic took the plates and set them out on the table, trying for all the world to look unconcerned as she pointedly ignored the clenching feeling in her stomach and the way her heart beat harder in her chest.

"Vic, we love you, you know that, right?"

She nodded, still refusing to look her uncle in the eye.

"Then what's going on? You've been really reserved and jumpy tonight."

Vic bit her lip and tried for boldness, but when she met Uncle Harry's gaze, she realized how foolish an idea that had been. She was not strong enough to shrug this off while looking him in the eye.

"Are you unhappy with Teddy?" Harry pressed.

"No!" Vic felt the air rush out of her.

"Well, then what's going on?"

Vic bit her lip before falling into one of the chairs and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"You know what happened before we got together. Aren't you worried about Ted being with me?"

Harry stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry, that one completely missed me."

"Harry, I was encouraging Ted's flirting while I was dating and engaged to Sean. Wouldn't you be worried if Jamie started dating someone you knew wasn't faithful to their previous relationship?" Vic didn't dare look up at her uncle. She almost expected him to go talk to Ted then and now and convince him to wash his hands of her.

"What does Teddy say about what you're getting at here?" Harry came to sit across from her.

Vic shook her head. "He keeps telling me that I'm crazy."

"Then I'm going to side with Teddy."

Vic squeezed her arms tighter around herself. "You mean how everyone sided with me while I was in a relationship that I shouldn't have been in?"

Harry sighed. "Vicky, we love you, and if you had decided you did love Sean, then we would have done what we could to support you in that relationship."

"Even though everyone thought he was a prick? Even though it would have been bad for me to stay with him?" Vic finally looked up at Harry.

"Vicky, one of the things that come with being an adult is that the grown-ups that raised you have to back off and let you make your own decisions, and let you deal with whatever those consequences happen to be. We all still want to help you, and we may make suggestions along the way, but we can't dictate your lives. How else will you learn other than having to make your decisions and live with the consequences of them?"

"So, even if being with me is bad for Ted, you'll not try to stop him?"

Harry chuckled, "I've not seen Ted happier than I see him now with you, but yes, even if he was unhappy, I wouldn't try to sabotage your relationship with him. If he came to me for help, I would definitely try to help him find happiness, but I would never tell him to break off a relationship. Those sorts of decisions are personal ones, and they have to come from the individual."

Vic took a deep breath and forced herself to ask one last question. "What about the rest of your family, would they do the same thing?"

"Who do you think taught me that when a kid becomes an adult the grown-ups have to let them learn from their own choices?"

"So, no one is going to try and talk Ted out of being with me?"

"No, Vicky, I think the only person you need to be concerned about in that area is yourself."

Vic blinked, "What?"

"If you can't believe that you're worthy of being loved, then sooner or later, you'll be the one to walk away."

Vic sat in stunned silence as her uncle's words washed over her, but before she could respond, Lily came bounding in asking if it was time for dessert yet.

Uncle Harry's comment felt an awful lot like the list that her mum had written several months ago. She really wished that everyone would stop trying to vaguely point her in the right direction and just tell her what she needed to do. But Harry's comment about loving herself made her feel suddenly exposed in the worst way. She wanted to put on a sweatshirt and curl under a blanket. Why did the concept of loving herself make her want to find a rock to hide under? Vic realized it was probably close to the same reason that her mum's list made her want to tear the page out of her notebook and burn it.

"You ok?" Ted pulled her into him as they walked from the Potter's to his car. "You've been pretty quiet tonight."

Vic rested her head against his shoulder and sighed, "I'm starting to realize that I might have farther to go than I think I want to."

"You missed me," Ted leant back against his car and pulled her close to his chest. Vic let her arms snake around his neck and tried to enjoy the feeling of being wrapped up in Ted's embrace.

"My mum, and Uncle Harry, both seem to think that I've got some personal growth I could be doing, and I'm feeling like what they're suggesting is more than I might be able to handle."

"How can I help?" Ted dropped his face and nuzzled her cheek with his nose.

"I don't even know where to start, Ted, let alone how you could help."

Ted pulled his chin down her cheek, his five o'clock shadow pulling a giggle out of her.

"Well, maybe we sit down together, look at where you are, and see if between the two of us we can find a way forward, along with how I can help."

Vic bit her lip and pulled back to look at him. "This is scary."

"My mum says that most things that are worthwhile are scary." Ted soothed as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. "But you don't have to do it alone. Scary things aren't so bad when we do them with other people."

"Are you some self-exploratory expert then?"

Ted laughed and brought his lips to hers. Vic pulled closer, pressing up on her toes to deepen the kiss.

"There's the real Vic, I knew she couldn't have gone far." Ted murmured against her.

"What does that even mean?" She chuckled.

"You go get things, Vic. I'm not a self-help expert, but I know that you go get what you want, and that's the only thing you really need." Then he nipped at her ear. "And I'm never going to turn down excuses to spend more time with you."

He kissed down her neck and Vic hummed as her fingers moved through his turquoise hair.

"We should probably stop snogging out here," she sighed as he slowly moved his lips closer to hers. "I'm waiting for Jamie to come out and yell at us to stop."

Ted smirked as he pulled back, "You're probably right, but this is why I have a flat of my own."

"Why don't we take advantage of that before you take me home?" Vic finally started to feel more herself as Ted's appreciative hum vibrated in his chest against hers.

"See every now and again you have these amazing ideas and I end up wondering how I ever managed to make it this far without you."

"You're ridiculous," she pressed forward again, running her tongue against his lips.

"And you're kissing me," Ted murmured, pulling her flush against him and moving a hand to her hair.

"Will you two get a room!?" Jamie yelled from his bedroom window, looking down at the two of them in the front-drive.

"We were just on our way out, Jamie," Ted called back up to him as he reached behind him to open the car door.

When she finally made it home, Victoire opened up the notebook that had her mum's notes in it and read them again.

_You and your desires are important._

_You are a good person._

_You are brave._

_You must decide your life's story._

A few lines underneath them she added Uncle Harry's advice.

_If you can't believe that you're worthy of being loved, then sooner or later, you'll be the one to walk away._

She didn't feel any closer to finding herself, but seeing it all laid out in front of her, she realized that Uncle Harry's words had given her a bit of direction. Maybe if she could just believe these things, then maybe it would help her see the way forward. And knowing that Ted was going to try and help her made her feel a little less like she was floundering.

Vic was pulled from her internal struggle by the chime of her text message notification.

**Ted: Have you read my comments yet?**

She laughed and pulled her laptop to her.

**Vic: I was just about to start.**

Ted's typing bubble made her giddy.

**Ted: Good. I think you're going to like what I've put so far.**

Vic typed in her password and waited for her computer to log in.

**Vic: I'm sure that I'll wonder if we're reading the same document.**

She bit her lip and smiled. Teasing Ted was almost as much fun as kissing him.

**Ted: Stop that. Go read my comments and you'll see this story of yours is going to be big.**

Vic rolled her eyes and opened her browser.

**Vic: You have to say that, you're my boyfriend.**

Ted's response was almost instant.

**Ted: No, I have to say it because it's true. Now stop texting me and start reading. ;)**

Vic opened the document and sighed. She hadn't read through her story in almost a year now. It felt like going back to an old childhood favorite food and it made her nervous. She'd liked some pretty awful things when she was a kid, some good things too, but a lot of things that now she found repugnant. Was she about to find out that she had spent three years on something that she now hated? Vic tried to breathe through the anxiety and took a deep breath.

"Let's get this over with." And she started reading.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be on Saturday, Oct 10th! Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

"What do you mean this entire chapter is out of character?" Vic demanded as she read Ted's comment on the chapter heading.

Ted set her soda can on the coffee table and sat down next to her on his couch. Vic prudently moved the can further away from her laptop.

"She isn't brave in this chapter." He shrugged.

Vic stared at him, "Yes she is."

"Nope, she waits for her group to solve the problem. She doesn't take any action of her own. You're near the end of the book here, she needs to be brave, she needs to show that everything you've put her through has paid off and she's ready to be the hero now."

Vic sighed and looked back at her laptop screen. All of Ted's comments on her story were like this. He seemed to think that she was holding her heroine back, not allowing her character to live up to her potential. Vic usually passed off comments like this from others because she felt like they didn't know what they were talking about. But having Ted defend his reasoning with the sharp knifepoint of cold hard logic made Vic less sure of her insistence that she was right and everyone else was uninformed, or that they didn't understand the story.

"But we were going to look at your mum's list and talk about what Harry said to you." Ted knocked her knee with his.

Vic stared at her laptop for a moment more before nodding and shutting it down.

"Here," she handed Ted her notebook, "This is what they both said."

Ted leant back against the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table and Vic wondered if maybe she could get him to set this rather terrifying task aside in exchange for some more pleasurable activities. But before she could pursue that line of thought, Ted set the notebook in his lap and dove right in.

"Well, your mum's words seem accurate, but I'll admit that Harry's comment worries me a little bit." He frowned down at the notebook. "What on earth brought up a comment like that?"

Vic bit her lip and looked at her black laptop screen. Ted's hands gently but firmly grabbed hers, stopping her from trying to rub her skin raw.

"Vic, you can talk to me. I'm still the goof that got you chatting all day at work instead of doing our jobs. I'm still your friend. I just now also happen to be living my fantasy of being your boyfriend as well." He teased, and Vic gave a small laugh despite her nerves.

"Come on, Vic," Ted tapped her chin up with his finger, trying to get her to look at him. "You can tell me what happened. You can tell me anything."

She bit her lip harder and dropped her gaze lower. She might as well tell him; it wasn't like they hadn't already talked about this to an extent before.

"I, I was sort of worried that, that Harry and the rest of your family were going to try and convince you to break up with me."

"Vic," Ted shook his head, "You've got it all wrong."

"Well if Uncle Harry is right, then it's me we should apparently be worried about anyway." She huffed.

"We're not going to worry about either of us walking away, alright." Vic jumped as Ted's normally playful voice had gone very firm. "If it happens, we'll deal with it when we get there, but right now we're both committed to being with each other, so let's not start talking about who's going to walk away."

"I'm sorry," she tried to fold further in on herself.

"No, I'm sorry," Ted sighed and pulled her into him. "I spent so much time wishing that you were mine and now talking about that ending brought me up short. I don't like thinking about you not being in my life."

Vic took a deep breath in his embrace and tried to ignore how much these hard feelings seemed to be ruining everything. They held each other for a few silent moments, breathing each other in, before Ted's voice sounded in the quiet.

"Is Harry right? Do you not love yourself?"

Vic closed her eyes, afraid to look that question full in the face.

"I," she whispered. "I don't know."

Ted's fingers moved into her hair, combing through it from the base of her neck to the ends.

"I still love you." His voice was a quiet rumble, and his lips were very close to her ear.

Vic felt a small smile pull on her lips. It was comforting that hearing him say those words now made her heart flutter and her spine tingle. When he said it to her the first time all she had felt was guilt and panic. But now, now those words filled her with hope.

"You don't have to say it back," Ted continued in the same low rumble. "But I want you to know that didn't change. And if it helps you love yourself at all to know that I love you, then I want you to know that I never stopped loving you."

Vic gave in to the smile that had been pulling on her lips and turned to face him.

"Thank you, that does help."

And it did. Vic didn't know if she really didn't love herself or if she'd spent the last little while tearing herself so far down that she forgot what it felt like not to. But hearing Ted say he loved her seemed to awaken a part of her soul that had gone dormant, hiding from all the internal berating that had become her inner voice.

Ted leant in, gently brushing his lips along hers.

"Good," He smiled against her. "And would it help if I said it more often?"

Vic kissed him again as she answered. "It certainly wouldn't hurt anything."

"I'm going to act as if you said yes," he gave her a cheeky grin.

She laughed and laid her head against his shoulder, letting the warm comfort of his embrace envelope her. It felt right to sit here with him like this. When it was the two of them and she wasn't worried about anyone else, everything about being with Ted felt right. And that realization opened her eyes just a fraction more to the possibility that this page in her notebook might be worth exploring if for no other reason than to try and create a life where she always felt right with Ted, a life where she didn't try to sabotage her own happiness.

Vic glanced over at the page and saw the first line.

_You and your desires are important._

Well, right now her desire was to be happy with Ted without her brain trying to ruin it. She would just have to start giving that priority, that's what you did with important things after all.

"I think maybe I just needed to take a look at Mum's list in a new light." She let her thoughts vocalize.

"Yeah?" Ted kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah, those lines seem a bit less terrifying now." Vic looked up at him and smirked. "You're fully to blame. What am I supposed to do with a boyfriend who helps me see that my mother is right?"

Ted laughed and pulled her closer. "There's the woman I fell in love with."

"Don't try to sweet-talk your way out of this," Vic stuck her tongue out at him. "Boyfriends are supposed to tell you that you're perfect and need no improvements."

Ted tipped forward and kissed her.

"Boyfriends who don't plan on sticking around, sure. But I want you to be happy, and I'm realizing in my short life span that growth tends to help with happiness." Then he smirked. "And if you'd rather I didn't talk my way out of this, I could probably find some other entertaining ways to distract you."

He slid his fingertips under the hem of her shirt and Vic leant into his hand, a quiet hum escaping her lips.

"I knew you practiced witchcraft," she sighed when Ted moved to kiss her neck, his lips lingering behind her ear and his warm breath sending shivers down her spine.

"I could go back to talking my way out of whatever metaphorical hole you dropped me in." He whispered before pulling back entirely and leaning against the arm of the couch.

The smirk he offered her made Vic want to simultaneously smack him upside the head and snog him senseless.

"See!" She threw her hands in the air, "Witchcraft!" Then she laughed and moved to the opposite arm of the couch. "There! How do you like it?"

Ted smiled, "I'm rather enjoying the view. I could get used to you sprawled out on my couch like that."

Vic rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you've got a magic wand somewhere that could make me float to you if you needed it."

"I don't know if I'd call it magic, but…" He smirked at her, his warm amber eyes taking on a honey cast as they seemed to bore into hers.

"Oh, shut up!" Vic felt her face grow hot but she forced herself to hold his penetrating gaze. "I'm sure you learned that one your last year of primary school too."

Ted continued to smirk at her, "That pink on your cheeks says it doesn't matter when I learned it."

"You're ridiculous!" She gave up and looked away and shook her head, trying to clear away her blush.

"Nah, I'm just in love with you."

Vic couldn't stop the smile that claimed her lips.

"You're not going to let me win, are you?" She tried to pout but from the look on Ted's face, she was failing miserably.

Ted laughed and then moved to her side of the couch. He leant into her, bringing his face within a couple of inches of hers.

"Better?"

"Is this what me winning is?" Vic suddenly found it a little harder to take in air than normal.

"Did you want something different?" Ted ran the tip of his nose along the side of her own and Vic felt the desire to bring her lips to his run through her whole body like an electric current.

"I think I can make do with this," she smirked up at him.

Ted's chuckle rumbled in his chest and Vic let out an audible sigh when he finally brought his lips to hers.

_You and your desires are important._

The words echoed quietly in her mind, and as Vic lost herself in snogging Ted, she knew she could face this list now. Because now she could see that while Ted joked about being thrown in holes, she actually had dug one for herself and climbed in, and it was time to climb back out.

Just as soon as she finished kissing Ted like her life depended on it.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

As it happened, it took almost another week for Vic to find the time to sit down with the page in her notebook that had nearly given her a stomach ulcer when her mum first wrote out its contents. She curled up against her pillows on her bed and took a deep breath as she read through the list again.

_You and your desires are important._

_You are a good person._

_You are brave._

_You must decide your life's story._

_If you can't believe that you're worthy of being loved, then sooner or later, you'll be the one to walk away._

Vic reasoned that if her desires were important then she ought to know what her desires were. She'd never really put a lot of thought into what she wanted, mostly she did what was expected of her. But she was done pretending that was enough; she was going to go after the things she wanted.

Just as soon as she figured out what that was…

Vic turned the page in her notebook and grabbed a pen. She wrote down the epiphany she'd had back at Ted's flat.

_I want to stop trying to sabotage my relationship with Ted. I want to let myself be happy with him._

"Well, there's something at least."

Vic looked at the line and tried to figure out what else she wanted. She looked around her childhood bedroom and pursed her lips as memories tried to intrude on her attempt at figuring out her life. Maybe she'd get Dom to switch rooms with her just to be able to look around and not feel like everything reminded her of her childhood. Then she laughed and put her pen to the next line.

_I want to move out._

Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as she originally thought. Vic smiled at the two lines she had so far. And those two things felt somewhat complete. Maybe she'd add more to this list, but right now, being on her own, and not undermining her relationship with Ted felt like enough. She turned the page back and read the next thing on her mum's list.

_You are a good person._

Vic sighed. She wasn't so sure about her being a good person. She was just about to skip over this one when a thought occurred to her. Ted loved her. Her family loved her. And she trusted them. She trusted their opinions and advice. If they loved her, then she couldn't be a horrible person, could she? Vic admitted that she still felt a bit like she wasn't a good person, but if she trusted her dad to love her, and her mum to love her, and Ted to love her even though she didn't treat him the way she should have at the beginning, then maybe she could trust that _they_ at least thought she was good. Maybe that could be enough, for now, to just trust that she was a good person.

_You are brave._

Vic actually laughed. Brave? Why on earth would her mum put something like that. Vic shook her head and decided to skip this one. Maybe it was a French thing?

_You must decide your life's story._

Vic thought she understood this one now. Her mum was trying to get her to see that she'd more or less just been floating without a whole lot of direction. There was a moment where Vic wondered if she should try and make those decisions of what she wanted her life story to look like, but the moment of anxiety that hit her was enough to tell her that maybe she should take this in pieces. She knew that she wanted Ted in her story, and she knew she wanted her own place. Right now, that would be enough. She'd write more chapters as she worked through these, but Vic resolved that she was going to be the star of those chapters. She wasn't going to wait for others to write her story for her anymore. The fact that she didn't have total control in her life wasn't going to be her excuse anymore. What she could control she would, and everything she couldn't control wasn't going to stop her from making her life the way she wanted it.

Vic's eyes drifted to Harry's advice.

_If you can't believe that you're worthy of being loved, then sooner or later, you'll be the one to walk away._

Thinking about it now, Vic realized this was a lot like her mum's words that she was a good person. She would just have to trust for now that she was worthy of being loved, especially by Ted. Every time her brain told her she wasn't, she'd choose to trust that she was. She'd choose to believe that Ted was with her because he wanted to be. She'd choose to believe that she was worthy of his love. And she would tell those thoughts that she wasn't to get lost.

Vic almost laughed at herself. This page in her notebook had nearly made her sick with anxiety, and now she was smiling down at the words on the page.

"Quel magnifique sourire, ma chérie." Fleur stood within the door frame.

"Merci, Maman," Vic scooted over as her mum came to sit on her bed with her.

"Ah, and you even have my few words of advice with you."

Vic laughed, "Yeah, I guess I should say thank you. I didn't realize it at first, but they've been helpful. I don't feel so lost now."

"Merveilleux," Fleur wrapped her arms around Vic's shoulders, "and what will you do now?"

Vic bit her lip and looked up over at her mum. "Look for a flat of my own?"

Fleur laughed. "Don't ask me, this is your story."

"Alright, then," Vic gave her mum a sheepish smile. "Maman, I'm going to look for a flat of my own."

Her mum hugged her tight, "I'm proud of you, ma chérie."

"Thanks, Maman," Vic took a deep breath. "Think you could help me?"

"I would love to help you." Fleur turned to look at her daughter. "And what of your Ted?"

Vic looked down at the notebook and smiled. "I'm going to stop undermining myself. He says he loves me, and I'm going to believe him."

"And perhaps now we could get to know the one so dear to your heart?" Her mum gave Vic a rather pointed look. "I've been ever so patient, ma chérie."

Vic laughed. She had definitely avoided the step of introducing each other's families into her relationship with Ted, but maybe it was time. They'd been together for three months now, and if you counted how she behaved like he hung the moon while they worked together, then you could add another six months on to that.

"I'll talk to Ted about it when I see him on Friday."

Fleur squeezed her shoulders. "Merci, and what of work?"

"Work is good," Vic chuckled. "Who knew I'd enjoy editing other people's writing? Or that I'd be good at it?"

"I did," Fleur kissed her cheek, "but now you know it too, and that's more important."

Vic rolled her eyes and laughed, "Thanks, Maman."

"It is what mothers are for, ma chérie," Fleur teased.

Vic hugged her mum and smiled down at the notebook in her lap. It may have been a roundabout way of doing things, but she was glad that her mum had helped her to see what she needed to change in order to be happier. With this new chapter of her life beginning, Vic was sure that while it probably wouldn't be easy, it would definitely be worth it, if for no other reason than she would be the heroine of her own life. And if she could be the heroine of her own life, then she could probably figure out what was wrong with her book heroine as well. At the very least, she was going to try and accomplish both of those things while she found herself a flat.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be fun my friends! We're meeting the families today! Next week's chapter is going to go up probably Tuesday, October 13th. Then we'll go back to Saturday updates. Have an amazing day! See you next week =)

Victoire was unconsciously wringing her hands as she sat in Ted's car that Friday and he drove them to his flat.

"Vicky," Ted moved a hand from the steering wheel to her hands, gripping them in his gentle but firm grip that he always used when she was rubbing her skin raw. "What's wrong?"

Vic stilled her hands, turning one of them over to hold Ted's hand.

 _You are brave._ Her mum's words echoed quietly in her mind. She took a deep breath and ripped off the metaphorical bandage.

"I, er, I was thinking, maybe, maybe we should meet each other's families." She spoke quickly trying to keep her voice from trembling.

Ted squeezed her hand, interlacing their fingers. "I would like nothing better than to get to know your family and to bring you home to mine."

Vic looked over at him to see him smiling. She really liked seeing him smile.

"Yeah?"

"Of course, would tonight be too soon?" He smirked at her and she knew he was teasing.

But even though she knew he was teasing, Vic suddenly wanted to get it done and over with. She wanted to take the fear out of it, to stop worrying over it.

"Let's do it."

Ted blinked as he chanced a glance back over at her.

"Really? Because we could. It's my parents' turn tonight to host the monthly dinner the Marauders hold; it would be my parents and my aunts and uncles; you'd meet the whole lot of Dad's side."

Vic swallowed. What he was describing was mildly terrifying if she was honest. But it also gave her an opportunity to meet nearly everyone in his family at once. It would be like ripping off the bandage in one go, instead of bit by bit, and that was just the slightest bit appealing.

Vic squared her shoulders and nodded.

"Yes, let's go introduce me to your family."

Ted glanced back at her again, and then drove past the turn he would have taken to get to his flat.

"Alright, let's go show my family that I'm not blowing smoke about how amazing you are."

Vic squeezed his hand and hoped she had made the right call. Maybe this is what her mum meant when she called her brave. Vic personally would have called this insane, but maybe her mum had the meanings of the words confused.

Ted seemed to be just a bit nervous as well, at least Vic assumed the way he'd gone quiet meant he was nervous. He kept his fingers intertwined with hers though, and that seemed to help reassure both of them. It certainly reassured her.

After twenty minutes or so, Ted pulled into the driveway of a beautiful old home.

"Last chance to back out," Ted pulled his hand from hers and put the car in park.

Vic bit her lip. Heaven knew how much a part of her wanted to turn back, but she was realizing that she did, in fact, love Ted, and she wanted to show him. She wanted him to have some substantial evidence of it when she finally mustered up the courage to say it out loud to him. So she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Let's go in, I want to meet your family."

Ted leant over and kissed her slowly, reassuringly.

"I love you." He whispered against her.

Vic smiled at him. She was going to say it back, not right now, but soon, she was going to tell him how she was head over heels for him too.

Ted held her hand firmly in his as he pushed open the door to his parents' home.

"Mum? Dad?" He called out as he led her into the small entryway.

"Teddy?" A woman an inch or so taller than Vic came around the corner with bubblegum pink hair and she nearly knocked over a hall lamp when her eyes landed on Vic, but a man with brown hair and a soft smile reached out and caught it just before it hit the floor.

"Hi Mum," Teddy pulled Vic closer to him. "Surprise."

Vic gave Ted's parents a nervous smile while his mum looked shocked and his dad had an amused twinkle in his eye.

It was Ted's dad who broke the silence.

"Teddy, the family is here you know?"

Ted nodded. "I warned her, she said she was brave enough to face them all at once."

Ted's mum seemed to get over her shock and moved to the door, her hand outstretched.

"It's so nice to meet you, Victoire, I'm Dora."

"She's Nymphadora if you want to tease her," Ted smirked as Vic shook his mum's hand.

"You may be taller than me but I can still smack you upside the head Edward Remus Lupin." Dora's hair seemed to almost glow with more intense color as she glared at her son.

"And I'm Remus," Ted's dad smoothly stepped between his son and wife to shake Vic's hand. "I have to say Victoire, I'm impressed with your willingness to meet all of us at once."

Vic gave a nervous laugh as she answered. "Ted talks about how wonderful all of you are. I didn't see the point of spreading it out if I could meet all of you at the same time."

"Why won't our nephew come in and say hello?" A man with black hair graying at the temples and rectangle framed glasses stuck his head around the corner. Vic could have sworn it was Uncle Harry for the brief glance she caught of him.

"Ted's on his way, James," Remus stepped in front of Vic and she didn't miss the mischief in his eyes. "Gives us a moment."

Vic couldn't see James' reaction but Ted grinned down at her and winked.

"I'm afraid we're surrounded by a bunch of boys who think they have a flair for the dramatic." Dora smiled at her. "But if you're ready, why don't we go say hello to our little family?"

"Yeah, I think I'm ready," Vic smiled as Ted moved to drape his arm across her shoulders.

Remus winked at her and led the four of them from the entryway to the sitting room where the Marauders were gathered.

"We have a guest with us tonight," Remus announced blandly, still standing in front of Vic.

"We all know Teddy," a man spoke up.

"Oh, yes, I suppose you're right, we all know Teddy. I won't worry about introductions then." Vic blinked up at Ted, who winked at her as he worked to keep his laughter in check. Then Remus moved so that she was in full view of the room and its occupants.

"I told you I saw someone with them!" James looked triumphantly at a woman with long auburn hair sitting next to him. She rolled her eyes at him but smiled. Vic stared at the resemblance Uncle Harry had to his dad. It was strangely comforting to see James and Lily there. They weren't Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, but simply knowing who they were, that they weren't complete strangers like everyone else in the room, made her feel a bit less like she was the main act for the evening.

"I knew you were more like me," a man with black hair and the face of a model spoke up. The woman sitting on his lap had long blonde curls and she laughed at his comment, turning to give Vic a bright smile.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," a woman with short-cropped brown hair stood and moved to where Vic was standing with Ted.

"I'm Teddy's Aunt Bridget," she took Vic's hand. "My Marauder is Pete over there." She gestured to a portly balding man who smiled and lifted his glass to her. "Those two," she pointed to the man with the blonde in his lap, "are Sirius and Marlene. And the one who swore he saw you at the door is James and that's Lily."

Vic smiled and held up her hand in what she realized at the last moment was probably a rather pathetic wave. This was far more intimidating than she'd originally expected.

Ted, however, was already moving right along.

"Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Victoire. She felt brave enough to meet you all at once."

"Then she'll fit right in," Bridget put a hand on Vic's shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

Remus caught Vic's eye and winked at her. "Dora and I are rather happy to meet her as well. So why don't we move to the dining room and we can show her where Ted picks up all his annoying habits while we eat."

Ted's mum shook her head but laughed as she led everyone to the dining room, "Stop teasing her, Remus."

Vic spent the evening learning that Dora's assessment of their family was spot on. But what Vic also started to see was that the flair for the dramatic these men all seemed to have had a very specific purpose; it made their wives pay attention to them. And she realized that she was no different really than these ladies at the table with her. Every time Ted acted the way his dad or uncles were, she became his bated breath audience. Making her guess his name, never letting her pay for meals, all his teasing, it kept her eyes on him and her smile on her face. She suspected that if she watched Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny the next time, she saw them, she'd see the same thing.

It was in the midst of that realization that another epiphany came. No one had pulled her or Ted away from each other. No one seemed to hate her for what she put Ted through. No one was trying to scrutinize her. On the contrary, they seemed to like her, a lot. And they seemed to think of her as a permanent fixture as they described what to expect for birthday celebrations and Christmas.

Vic turned to Ted as he laughed at his dad's story, and she smiled at him. He had been using that dramatic flair from the moment she met him. He'd claimed her heart with a silly comment about an antique time stamp machine. And Vic finally felt like she knew what Ted meant when he said that it wouldn't matter what anyone said, he'd stay with her. She understood why Harry's comment about a possible end to their relationship had bothered him so much. When Vic had been with Sean, she constantly felt like she needed to defend him or his decisions, and more specifically her staying with him. But what she felt with Ted was different. She didn't feel the need to explain away his actions. She didn't really care what other people thought of Ted, because she knew who he was. He was the man she wanted to be with, regardless of what others might have thought about the start of their relationship or about either of them individually. She wanted to be with Ted, because she loved him.

Ted seemed to notice her eyes on him and turned toward her, his smile bright but his amber eyes questioning. Vic didn't respond to the unspoken question; she simply rested her head against his shoulder. She certainly wasn't going to say those three words to him for the first time in front of his family, even if she might be dying with the effort to keep it inside.

It wasn't much later that Ted suggested they head out and leave his crazy family to gossip about them for the rest of the night. There were a few indignant protests that the two of them certainly didn't need to leave in order for the group to gossip about them, but after a round of hugs and goodbyes, the two youngest members of the family that night moved to Ted's car.

"Well," Ted chuckled as he buckled his seatbelt, "You survived meeting all of them."

Vic laughed, "They're wonderful, Ted, I can see why you love them all so much."

"What would you like to do now, love?" Ted asked as he pulled out of his parents' drive.

Vic summoned her courage to ask if he wanted to keep pulling off the metaphorical bandage.

"Do you want to round out the evening and meet my family?"

Ted turned to look at her for a moment before remembering to watch the road.

"Er, I, yeah, are, are you sure you're alright with that?"

Vic felt the nervous pit in her stomach start to creep back up, but she pushed it down. She loved Ted, and nothing her family did was going to change that.

"If, if you're alright with it, I'd like to take you home to my family tonight." Vic managed a shy smile.

Ted came to a stop sign and leant over capturing her lips in a slow kiss.

"Is your dad going to threaten to chop me into bits?" Ted smirked as he pulled away and began navigating back to Vic's home.

"No," she laughed, "he usually lets the scars from his motorcycle accident be his intimidation." Vic slipped out her phone and let her mum know they were on their way.

Ted laughed, "I'll keep that in mind and try to look suitably intimidated."

"You're ridiculous," Vic grinned as Ted worked his magic on her.

"No, I'm in love with you." Ted grabbed her hand and moved it to kiss her knuckles.

Vic smiled, the anticipation of saying it back was starting to make her giddy. She had originally intended to wait a bit longer to say it, but as Ted drove them to her home, she realized that she wasn't going to be able to wait all that long. So rather than risk blurting it out in front of her whole family, Vic decided to be a bit more flexible with her assumed timeframe.

"Ted," she grabbed his hand as it went to undo his seatbelt in front of her home.

Ted stopped and looked up at her, his eyes holding that same questioning look they'd had at his parents' home.

"Yeah?"

Vic hadn't realized how nervous she'd be. It felt so natural to think about saying she loved him for the first time, but doing it was a completely different beast. A nervous chuckle escaped her lips and she tried to breathe a bit deeper.

"Ted, I love you." The words seemed breathless and Vic kicked herself as she went to say it again, intending to say it with more substance behind it.

But she didn't get the chance as Ted's hands pulled her face to his and kissed her passionately. Vic couldn't stop the smile that claimed her lips, making kissing Ted just a bit difficult, but he didn't seem to mind as he moved to kiss her jawline and behind her ear and along her neck.

"I love you," Vic laughed, feeling the elation that saying those words out loud gave her.

Ted finally pulled back and looked at her, his warm eyes filled with a kind of awe.

"I love you too," he laughed as his hand caressed her cheek. "I love you so much."

Vic moved to kiss him this time, still smiling like the Cheshire Cat, causing them to knock teeth more than anything.

"There is absolutely no way I'll be able to pretend to be intimidated by your dad, now." Ted laughed as he ran his tongue over his teeth.

"That's alright," Vic's smile was so wide her face was starting to hurt. "But we should probably go in. It's getting late."

"Why don't we," Ted kissed her once more before undoing his seatbelt.

Vic pushed open the front door and called out as she let Ted into the entryway.

"Mum, Dad, we're here."

"The lover boy has entered the building," Louis taunted from the den and Vic rolled her eyes before casting an apologetic look at Ted. To her surprise, he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"It's not a bad line, Vic," he defended as he regained his composure.

Vic smiled and led him into the den where her family was gathered.

"Mum, Dad, Dom, Louis, this is my boyfriend, Ted Lupin. Ted, this is Fleur, Bill, Dominique, and Louis."

Ted moved from her side and shook everyone's hands.

"It's wonderful to finally meet all of you," Ted commented as he sat down with Vic. "Now what did you all plan to interrogate me on first?"

Dom laughed, "At least he isn't under any illusions."

Vic rolled her eyes and went to grab her purse when she realized she'd left it in Ted's car.

"Can I borrow your keys? I left my purse in your car."

"I can grab it for you, love," Ted moved to stand.

"I'll run, don't worry, I won't leave you alone with my family for more than a few seconds."

Ted smirked, "Actually, that might be just enough time to get them started on some embarrassing story that you'd try and head off." He handed her his keys. "Or I can go grab it, of course."

Vic laughed and took the keys. "You'd learn all those stories eventually anyway."

Ted held onto her hand for just a moment longer before letting it slide from his as she sprinted for his car. She probably didn't have to run, but there were some stories she'd rather wait for a while longer for them to crop up if she could manage it.

She unlocked the car and snagged her purse, but in her haste, she didn't realize that the strap had caught and wedged between the dash and the corner of the glove box compartment.

"Oh, come on!" Vic gave the strap an upward tug but it wouldn't budge. Rather than risking breaking her purse, she quickly slid the key into the lock and unlocked the glove box, opening it to release her purse.

She stopped short when the compartment fell open.

A small burgundy ring box sat on top of a few other assorted papers and items.

Vic was frozen for a moment before she quickly shut the glove box and locked it again.

Slowly she picked up her now free purse and locked the car. She couldn't take her eyes off of the glove box as the door shut. Her emotions were a storm of excitement and nervousness and overwhelmed, and the knowledge that she needed to stop freaking out because Ted could absolutely not know that she had seen that box. Assuming that it was what she thought it was. But what else could he possibly have that would need to be in a ring box locked in the glove box of his car?

Vic bit her lip and smiled so wide that the reflection she saw in the car window made her wonder if she might crack her face. If the box was what she hoped it was, she already knew her answer.

Then she skipped back into her childhood home and to the man she was madly in love with.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO Chapters today? YES! You get two chapters today because I finished writing Endeavor yesterday! Two chapters will post on October 24th and the last two chapters will post October 31st - so that you can read some happy ending fluff that isn't the awful realities of cannon and Halloween. Enjoy my friends!

Ted kissed her again, he had to, he'd been restraining himself all evening. She'd been very affectionate since they got to her home and he certainly wasn't going to snog her in front of her parents, no matter how much she was making him want to.

Apparently, Vic telling him she loved him resulted in some very appealing side effects.

"At some point, my mum is going to step out and ask if something's wrong with your car." Vic murmured against him as he kissed her against the railing leading up to her front door.

"We can hope that she'll then invite me in to stay the night." Ted ran his tongue along her bottom lip and grinned at the way she shuddered and sighed into him.

"I could come over tomorrow," her voice was breathless and Ted wasn't surprised when it nearly did him in. He heard her say she loved him for the first time not three hours ago, she could probably put him in his grave if she really put her mind to it.

"You were going to go flat hunting tomorrow," Ted reminded her. "Your mum mentioned something like that when she pulled out the ice cream."

"Maybe I'll just forget," Vic kissed him further.

"I'll wait till Sunday, love." Ted threaded one of his hands in her hair, feeling the soft strands slide along his fingers.

"I love you," she murmured against his lips.

Those three words were stronger and surer every time she said them, and they made Ted feel like he was living in a dream. It had been almost a year since he'd first met Vic, and now she was tangled around him with her lips pressed against his. Somewhere he'd done something right, somehow, he'd made it to this point, in some way he'd managed to make her his.

"You need to get home," her voice was regretful as she slowed their pace.

Ted kept her close against him, breathing her in and loving the way it made him feel complete to have her in his arms.

"You're probably right."

"I love you," Vic smiled up at him, her blue eyes filled with the reflection of the moon above them.

"I love you too," Ted felt like his chest was going to explode. He knew they were staring at each other like fools, but he couldn't stop it. She was everything.

"Alright, go home," Vic gave him a bit of a pout, "And let me know when you're there safe." She eased out of his embrace and Ted felt like his heart was leaving his chest, following her towards her front door.

"I will," he held onto the railing and watched her back up to the door. "Sleep well, love."

"You too, love." Vic's smile was bright as she slipped inside the now open doorway. "Night."

"Night," Ted took one more deep breath as she disappeared behind the door and shut it.

The walk to his car was almost painful. This wasn't exactly how he imagined things would go when Vic told him she loved him. He'd thought about it, especially after he'd reaffirmed to her that he still loved her, even after everything that had happened after he'd kissed her at their office, and his imagining didn't involve simply a ten-minute snog before they parted ways. It involved quite a bit more than that actually.

But as he drove home, Ted decided to simply be grateful for the leaps and bounds they had taken in this single day. She'd met not just his parents, but every member of the Marauders she didn't already know. And she had brought him home to meet her parents and siblings. But the icing on the cake was definitely Vic saying she loved him.

Yes, the day had been amazing, so he could handle it not being every dream he'd dreamt up over the last few months.

Ted looked down at the glove box as he pulled into his building's car park and smiled. He probably shouldn't keep the engagement ring he bought a few days after their first date in there, but it was locked, and it made it so he wasn't worried about having her over at his flat. She could open any drawer and every door and not figure out how certain he'd been then and still was now that she was the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And now that she told him she'd fallen in love with him too, and they'd met each other's families, well, he didn't really have much need to wait anymore.

He could ask her on Sunday if he wanted to.

No, not Sunday, that wasn't going to give him enough time. He wanted proposing to Vic to be something special and memorable. A story worthy of who she was, and what he felt for her. She wasn't the kind of girl that you just asked over dinner. No, Vic was the kind of girl that you went all out for. She was the girl you pulled out all the stops and thrills to show her what she meant to you. He'd need more than thirty-six hours to put together a proposal that was right for Vic.

Ted opened the glove box and pulled the burgundy box out. He smiled at the ring that had been so obvious when he found it. It felt like Vic when he first saw it, and it still reminded him of her when he indulged himself to pull it out of the glove box. The sparse yellow colored light in his car couldn't completely dampen the way the stones sparkled back at him. He'd wanted to see it in the sunlight, sparkling on her hand, maybe while they were laying together on a warm beach watching the waves crash on the shore.

Ted snapped the lid closed and locked the box back up in his glove box. He'd plan something special. He'd make sure that Vic knew exactly how much he loved her when he popped that particular question.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I think I might be picky," Vic sighed and Ted moved to prop his arm against the back of his couch as he continued his video call with her.

"What was wrong with all of them?"

Vic shrugged, "They didn't feel like home."

Ted laughed. "Vicky, love, these flats won't feel like home until you move into them and live in them for a couple of months."

"I get that, they all just felt, I don't know, wrong." She looked at him helplessly and Ted tried to reassure her.

"Hey, it was just the first day, and you only looked at a few flats. Give yourself some room to breathe, and maybe after looking at a few others you'll feel better about it."

"I wish your building had some openings in my price range." Vic smiled. "You're close to my office and I really like the layout."

Ted smirked at her, "Are you asking to move in with me?"

"No," Vic rolled her eyes at him. "I'm just realizing how perfect your flat is, present occupant excluded, of course."

"I'm wounded!" Ted laughed. "You have no idea what you're talking about! Kalil will tell you that I'm a great roommate! I even replace the crisp bags after I've eaten the last of 'em!"

"Right," Vic looked amused, "because that's the most important part of a roommate."

"What else is there?" Ted laughed. "Besides," he retrieved an envelope from the coffee table, "As far as Kalil and Maira are concerned, you do live here." He held up the address so she could read it. "If I'm not mistaken, this says Ted Lupin and Vic Weasley, and it only has my address on it."

Vic's eyes went wide with excitement, "Is that the invitation?"

"Yep," Ted slid the invite out and held it up in front of his phone's camera.

"Hold it still," Vic laughed, "I'm trying to take a screenshot of it."

"So, I should RSVP yes for both of us then?" Ted tried to hold both his phone and the invite steady for his girlfriend.

"Of course, I'm going!" Vic laughed. "I love Maira and Kalil, they're a lot of fun."

Ted set the invite down and looked back at Vic, "You only say that because Kalil takes the mickey out of me every chance he gets."

"And Maira always levels the field for you. It's a fun game to watch."

"True," Ted smiled. "I'll let Kalil know you'll be there."

"You have to go too," Vic rolled her eyes. "You're his best man."

"Ah," Ted sighed, "Guess I'll have to let you drag me around the dance floor a time or two, then won't I?"

"I don't know," Vic teased. "Your mum was telling me that your dad has two left feet. Do you dance better than he does?"

Ted shook his head and smirked, "I'm a right side worse."

Vic laughed. "See when you look at me like that, I think you're teasing and I'm going to be shocked when we get there and you're a better dancer than I am."

"I'll just have to let you wait in anticipation then, won't I?"

Vic's smile went soft, "You like to make me wait in anticipation for a lot of things, don't you?"

Ted's smirk fell a bit; did he do that a lot?

"Does it bother you?"

"No," Vic's smile was still soft, "I don't mind a bit of anticipation."

Ted wasn't sure they were talking about the same thing anymore.

"Well, you can sit in anticipation of my dancing skills for a couple more months then."

"I can do that." Her smile was almost shy now.

Ted smiled back at her, but he was now almost certain she was not thinking about dancing at Kalil and Maira's wedding. Though he couldn't fathom exactly where her mind was.

"You should send me the listing photos of these flats you went and looked at." Ted deliberately changed the subject. The way the conversation had gone off the rails on him made him jumpy.

Vic laughed, "Sure, then you can see what I'm talking about when I say that they're wrong."

Ted's phone lit up with the links and he noticed the time.

"I'll have to look at these with you tomorrow," he frowned, "Mum asked me to come to dinner tonight."

"Oh no, what did you do?" Vic teased.

"I'm never sure, but I've found that any mother can usually find something to encourage her children to improve on if she tries hard enough."

"Do you need to head out now then?" Vic pouted.

Teddy wished she was next to him, instead of at her home on her phone. "I've got another fifteen minutes that are all yours."

"Alright," Vic grinned, "then I choose that we plan out what we're doing tomorrow."

"Whatever you say, love," Ted smiled and leant back into the couch.

Ted finished his call with Vic with just enough time to make it to his mum's invite to dinner that evening. He was sure that his parents wanted a chance to talk about what had happened the night before. His and Vic's stunt from the night before was pretty unlike him and he was sure that his parents wanted to know if there was more going on than he'd told them so far.

Ted certainly hoped for there to be more going on very soon, and he was sort of looking forward to bouncing ideas around with his parents for how to make those hopes a reality.

"I'm home!" Ted called out as he let himself in.

"Teddy!" His mum met him in the corridor and nearly knocked a picture off the wall when she threw her arms out to pull him into a hug.

Ted went for the frame, but his dad's steadying hand beat him to it.

"Welcome home, son," Remus chuckled.

"So," Ted cut to the chase as he followed his parents into the den. "What did you want to talk about without Vic around?"

His mum gave him a pointed stare. "When you say it like that it makes us sound like gossiping hens."

"It _is_ why you invited me over, though" Ted fell onto the couch and gave his mum the cheeky grin he'd learned from his dad.

"We were just hoping to know if things were going to be moving towards a place where we should be setting some money aside to help you with potential upcoming expenses." His dad smirked at him.

Ted couldn't keep the smile off his face. His dad might have been intending to tease him, but Teddy wasn't able to be teased at this point, he was too excited, and just a little nervous.

"You've asked her?!" His mum's voice was a mix between ecstatic and accusatory, and she nearly knocked her drink off the coffee table, catching it in the nick of time.

"No," Ted laughed, "but I'm working on a plan for that."

"Do you want to bounce some ideas off of us?" His dad's face lit up with excitement and Teddy felt that little bit of nervousness he felt ease a fraction more.

"Of course, he does," his mum seemed to have recovered from her outburst, sliding her drink a little closer to the center of the table.

"I actually only have one idea," Ted rubbed the back of his neck. "Kalil and Maira's wedding is in just under two months. I was thinking of asking her at their reception."

"That sounds like something Vic would like," his mum nodded as she smiled. "She struck me as one of those romantic types."

"Do you want it to be a complete surprise? I did a pretty decent job at that with your mum." His dad mused.

Ted laughed as his mum rolled her eyes.

"I was only surprised because I had to work so hard to get you to date me that I was certain that I'd need to fight you tooth and nail to get you to marry me."

Remus pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

"That's why it was so much fun to surprise you."

"That could be fun," Ted smiled at the thought of completely taking Vic by surprise. "But I'm not sure how to throw her off. I mean, she's sharp, and I tend to have to tease her to throw her off of anything, but when I made her guess my last name it took her all of ten seconds to figure it out once I gave her a couple of clues."

Remus looked thoughtful, "That could make things difficult. Part of what made it possible with your mum and I was that I was a bit of an arse when things started out."

"Yes," Dora laughed, but then kissed Remus' cheek. "But you came around in the end."

Ted frowned. "There has to be a way to make this work."

"It doesn't have to be a surprise," his mum smiled. "Peter and Bridget had decided that they'd get married before Pete formally asked her with a ring and everything."

"I already have the ring," Teddy replied absently as he kept turning the problem around in his mind.

"You have the ring already?" Dora looked over at Remus with a look Teddy couldn't read, but he was sort of distracted and dismissed it.

"How long have you had the ring, son?" Remus' voice was deceptively casual, but Ted was too caught up to notice.

"I bought it a few days after we started dating." Ted kept working through options in his head, and then the solution struck him.

"Teddy…" His mum started but Ted cut her off.

"I've got it!" He grinned as the idea took hold and he realized how much fun it could be.

"What's your idea?" His dad pulled him from his internal self-congratulations.

Ted smirked, "If every interaction somehow involves me looking like I might be proposing, then the real proposal will be just as surprising as when you proposed to Mum."

Remus laughed, "You're reversing the game to get the same result, very impressive, Teddy."

"Be nice to my future daughter-in-law," Dora warned. "I happen to really like Vic and I don't want you teasing her to the point of insanity."

"That's a good point," Ted leant back into the couch. "I'd need to introduce it to her somehow, in a way that lets her know that I plan on proposing, but leaves the when up in the air; and it would need to be sort of casual and teasing."

"You could watch a movie with a proposal in it with her," his mum suggested. "You could use that as your segue into the conversation."

Ted frowned; he didn't really want it to be something like that. He wanted it to be something more natural.

"Or you could bring it up with her directly," his dad offered, "Tell her you want to know if marrying you is something she sees in her future, and then you could mention that you're planning on asking, at some point."

Teddy shook his head. "No, I need it to come off as teasing her."

And then it hit him and he grinned as the idea started to take shape in his head.

"I think I've got it."


	16. Chapter 16

Ted was working hard to make this transition in their conversation as seamless as possible. She couldn't expect that he was moving their topic off in this way, or it would ruin any hope of surprising her entirely with a proposal at Kalil's wedding.

"I don't know Ted," Vic sighed as she helped him wash the dishes from the dinner they'd made at his flat. "I looked at two more flats today and they just seemed so uninviting."

"Are these places furnished or are you looking at empty flats?"

"Most of them are empty, but one of them was furnished." Vic leant her hip into the counter.

"Did the furnished one feel better?" Ted dried his hands before mimicking her stance.

"Not noticeably, no."

Ted hummed as he carefully planned his next comment.

"I'm not asking this to try and bring out hurt feelings, but did you live with Sean?"

Vic huffed, "No, I had a key to and a few things at his flat, but it never really felt right to move in with him. When we were engaged, I thought about it, but it didn't feel right then either."

Ted tried to look thoughtful as he took her hand and moved them to the couch.

"I would have thought that getting engaged would have made you feel more comfortable moving in with Sean."

"Yeah, if he had actually wanted to marry me." Vic gave him a playful shove as she sat with him. "But I get what you're saying. I had always thought when I got engaged, I'd be making plans to move in and live with my future husband."

Ted had to practice all of his self-control to not let his face give away the intense excitement he felt as Vic walked their conversation right to where he needed it to be.

"So, when are you moving in here?"

Vic's eyes went wide.

"What?"

"Well," Ted leant back and tried to look nonchalant, "You said that you'd move in with your fiancé. So, I wanted to know when to plan on you moving in."

Vic stared at him a moment and then her face turned suspicious.

"I don't know, seeing as I don't have a fiancé."

Ted blinked and then fixed a concerned look on his face. Slowly he pushed forward and took her left hand. He looked closely at her ring finger and frowned.

"I knew I forgot something," He sighed theatrically and threw himself back into the couch.

Vic laughed at him. "You're ridiculous."

Ted grinned at her. "Well, stay on your toes, Weasley, I mean to make you mine."

Vic leant forward and pressed him further back into the couch with a soft smile on her lips.

"I'm more or less yours already, Ted." She murmured a few inches from his face.

Ted laced his fingers through hers, "Almost," he ran his thumb along her ring finger, "but not quite."

Vic moved a little closer. "Are you trying to ask me a question, Ted?"

Ted smirked, "Vic, would you," he paused for a half a breath, "come with me to get some ice cream tonight?"

Vic blinked and then smacked him across the chest.

"I hate you," she pushed away from him but laughed as she did so.

"What did I say?" Ted pulled her back into him with a smirk. "Are you not in the mood for ice cream? I know of a place that specializes in different types of pies if you'd rather."

Vic rolled her eyes and Ted couldn't help but smile. He did it. He'd managed to set the precedent. She'd be suspicious of anything that looked like a proposal now, and he had a few more ideas planned to deepen that suspicious reaction between now and Kalil's wedding.

"I love you," he nuzzled her cheek with his nose, chuckling as she huffed at him.

"And I'm trying to remember why I love you."

"I can think of a few things to help jog your memory." He kissed along her jaw.

"Now you're cheating," Vic pouted and Ted laughed.

"I told you I plan on making you mine, but I promise you'll never see it coming."

"Is that a challenge, Edward?" Vic finally relaxed into him and Ted let his smile win out; he'd managed to get exactly what he wanted out of this conversation.

"It's a promise, Weasley." Then he caught her lips with his and pulled them back into the couch, losing himself in the woman he'd soon make his forever.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ted smiled as Vic described her latest failed attempt at flat finding. It almost felt like she was being picky on purpose, just so she could tell him these elaborate stories of how not a single one of these places could possibly be her next home. If she managed to keep it up for another six weeks, he'd be able to insist that his flat become her next home. No point in her having her own flat for a few months before marrying him and them moving in together then.

"You should come with me to see the next round of flats on Saturday." Vic's camera showed her leant up against her pillows in her room, golden hair spider-webbed out behind her.

Ted took a minute to just enjoy the view before bringing his attention back to their conversation.

"Are you suggesting that you want my opinion?"

Vic laughed at him. "No, I thought you'd make a good accessory while I walk through the working-class flats I'm touring."

"That's all I am to you? An accessory? I'm wounded, Wesley!" Ted threw his hand over his chest and his head back against the sofa.

"Well, I suppose there are other reasons I like having you around." She bit her lip and smirked at him.

Ted didn't even care that he caved to that look. Getting her to look at him like that was all the consolation prize he needed.

"Oh good, as long as I'm not just a necklace, then I'd love to go with you. When should I be at yours?"

"How about eight and you can have breakfast with me and my family?"

Ted grinned at the bright smile on her face.

"It sounds perfect."

And a few days later, Ted pulled up to Vic's childhood home about fifteen minutes before eight.

Ted didn't normally try to make it to social gatherings early, but he was the sort of man to not let perfect opportunities go wasted. Today he was hoping to get there early enough that he'd be able to catch Bill for a quick moment before Vic made it to breakfast.

"Ted," Bill answered the door, "come in. Vic isn't quite ready yet."

 _Perfect opportunity,_ his conscience kicked him.

Ted nodded and tried to appear a little surer of himself.

"Thanks, Bill, er, would you mind having a quick word with me?"

Bill smiled and nodded toward a room Ted understood to be Bill's study.

"Of course."

Bill quietly closed the door behind them and gestured for Ted to take a seat. Ted felt his heart beating in his ears. This was going to be more nerve-wracking than he'd originally anticipated. Bill took a seat opposite him and Ted decided to plow forward before he could lose his nerve, or Vic came down from her room.

"Bill, er, I hope you know how much I love Victoire. She's everything to me. And, this might be a bit old fashioned, but I'd like your blessing to propose to her all the same. It would mean a lot to me, and I know it'll mean more to her."

To Ted's astonishment, Bill laughed. Ted tried to keep his face neutral, but he was a bit affronted. This hardly seemed like a laughing matter.

"Of course, you have my blessing," Bill offered Ted his hand as he laughed.

"Thanks," Ted took it but he still felt blindsided by the laughter. It must have shown on his face.

"I'm only laughing because your godfather assured me that you'd ask for my blessing, and I told him he was wrong."

Ted frowned. "Why would you bet against me?"

Bill chuckled, "It wasn't you personally, Ted, it was your generation. Sean didn't bother with it, so I assumed that this practice had fallen out of style."

Ted grunted, "I am really looking forward to the day where Sean is a name that we don't hear for a few years at a time. He ruins things even when he isn't around anymore."

Bill gave him a warm smile, "You're doing a fine job of getting us all to forget about him, though. Should I expect this proposal today?"

"No!" Ted realized a second too late that he said that a little too forcefully. "I mean, no, I have something special planned for a few weeks out."

"Good to know," Bill grinned at him. "And I'll be glad to call you my son-in-law."

Ted felt his smile go a bit goofy as he responded. "Thank you, Bill. I promise I'll take good care of her."

Bill patted him on the shoulder before offering him a hand out of the chair.

"I know you will."

Ted followed Bill out the door and into the kitchen just in time to watch Vic come skipping down the stairs.

"You're here!" She smiled brightly and moved straight to his outstretched arms.

"Couldn't stay away," Ted shrugged and gave her a quick kiss.

Bill chuckled as the oven timer sounded and Fleur called all of them to breakfast. It wasn't a full hour later that they were piling into Bill and Fleur's car and heading out to the first flat.

Ted found he rather liked lounging in the backseat of a car with Vic. He especially liked playing with her ring finger while they held hands.

There were only two flats scheduled, and Ted was contemplating ways he could discreetly work in an almost proposal to Vic without her parents overhearing. He was sure that Bill would understand the game he was playing, but Ted didn't fancy explaining it to him.

The first flat was on the top floor of a five-story building, and when he saw the balcony, he realized he had his first opportunity. It was small, barely ten feet square, but if he could play it right, he might be able to pull off a pretty amazing false lead.

"I don't know, Mum," Vic sighed as she looked around.

"Come look at your view," Ted took her hand and gestured to the balcony off the bedroom, "Maybe the view will make all the difference."

Vic didn't look convinced but followed after him. Ted noticed that Bill and Fleur had started to follow but stopped when they saw the size of the small balcony.

 _Perfect._ He tried to hide his grin by turning to look out from the balcony.

Vic stepped out onto the small space with him and shook her head.

"This isn't much of a view Ted. I don't even see the street; I see the back of another building."

"But just think, you could step out here and pretend you're Juliet Capulet." Ted took her hand and stepped closer. "Doubt that this flat is thine, Doubt that the next one too, Doubt that this view is fine, But never doubt that I love."

Vic burst out laughing, "Ted that was horrible!" She gripped her stomach as she laughed.

Ted grinned, "Oh dear Victoire, I am ill at these verses, but of the end I am sure. Would you still have me, even knowing I butcher Hamlet's love letters?"

Vic laughed harder and leant against the railing.

Ted moved in to place the final piece. "Vic, would you do me the honor and," he paused as her laughter stilled and she looked at him with wide eyes, "let me come flat hunting with you again?"

Vic's eyes narrowed just slightly and she gave him a gentle shove as she laughed.

"Why do I let you do this to me?!" She moved to the sliding door but Ted caught her around the middle and pulled her into him.

"Because you know I love you, and you know someday soon, one of these is going to be real." She turned to look up at him with a bit of a pout and Ted smiled. "I promise."

He held her beautiful blue eyes with his and smiled as she pushed up to kiss him. This was going better than he could have hoped.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ted managed to fit an almost marriage proposal once or twice a week for the next couple of weeks. And he was pretty sure that Vic was on to his antics. But he never expected her to start to play the game herself.

They'd been enjoying dinner at a little falafel joint when Vic laced her fingers through his.

"You know," she smiled up at him, "I noticed that you haven't managed to lead me to believe you're proposing tonight."

"The night is young," Ted chuckled and ran his thumb along her ring finger. He hadn't been planning to give a false proposal tonight, but he could probably come up with something. He was becoming rather proficient at it actually.

Vic smirked, "I was thinking, and I don't see why you should have all the fun."

Ted's smile faltered. "What do you mean?"

"Just that I might try my hand at an "almost proposal" myself." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Ted swallowed hard. "I hope you understand that I do have something planned, and fairly soon as well."

He had never considered that she might take matters into her own hands and force the issue. This was a game, but it was a game with a purpose. Vic was amazing, she deserved to have a proposal that knocked her off her feet. He'd reasoned this game was just part of the entire proposal, a gradual crescendo if you will.

"I might be willing to hold off, for clues as to when the actual event is supposed to take place." Vic's smirk was wide and Ted knew he'd been played, but he didn't want to risk that she would follow through on her threat.

"You live for clues." He tried to hide his concern in his banter.

"I live for your clues, love." Vic ran her foot along his calf and bit her lip. "So, what do you say? Do I get a clue?"

Ted pretended to look torn, but she'd played well, and won.

"I think I could provide a couple of clues for you if you'll give your word that you won't beat me to the punch. I've been putting a lot of effort into this surprise, and amazingly enough, I'll be pretty sad if you go and ruin it for me."

Vic's grin told him she knew she'd won.

"Good, I'll accept one clue for one week of a guarantee that I won't beat you to the punch."

Ted smiled, that worked out really well. Kalil's wedding was in just under three weeks. Three clues - that still kept her in the dark - would buy him enough time to get them to the actual day. And he didn't think these clues would be too hard to come up with.

"Alright," Ted took their trash and moved them towards the door. "Your first clue is that I've already asked your dad for his blessing."

Vic stopped in her tracks on the pavement and Ted turned to see shock written across her face.

"Everything alright, love?"

"You asked my dad?"

Ted moved to wrap his arm around her waist. "Yes, I thought you'd be pleased."

Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "Thank you, thank you so much."

He pulled her close and just held her for a long while. This was why he was determined to give her a spectacular proposal. Something that made her feel like this, like she was the center of his world because she was.

"I'm willing to give you two more clues tonight if you'd like them." Ted kissed the top of her head as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Just two more?" Vic gave a watery laugh as she looked up at him. "Is that a clue in itself?"

Ted smirked at her, "I said right now, that doesn't mean there won't be more coming. I've only bought myself one week of your guarantee to not pull the floor out from under me. I'd like a bit more headway than that."

Vic pushed up and kissed him and Ted relaxed into the feeling of Victoire, the feeling of home.

"Yes, you can give me two more clues and that will give you three weeks of my cooperation in not ruining your well-laid plans."

"Good," Ted indulged himself in her lips once more. "Your second clue is that we'll be someplace new."

Vic's eyes lit up and her smile was bright with her excitement.

"And clue number three?"

"I'm going to give you two surprises that day."

"Two?"

"You heard me, Weasley," Ted smirked at her. "There will be two surprises that day."

"Did you just inadvertently give me a free fourth clue?" She laughed.

"I'll let you decide that one," Ted kissed her.

"I think you did." She grinned at him, "I think you just let it slip to expect my double surprise during the day."

Ted smirked, "I'm a simple man, Vic, I use simple terms. Day to me constitutes the twenty-four hours within a calendar day."

"Sure, it does," Vic smirked back at him, and Ted had to contain his excitement because she was wrong. Kalil and Maira's wedding was an evening affair. And as he quite deliberately let Vic's imagination run down the wrong path, Ted decided that it was probably time to bring his former flatmate in on his plans, it was his wedding after all.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday! Two chapters today, and then we have two chapters on October 31st, and this lovely little story comes to its end. See you next week!

Teddy was finding that this whole planning a proposal thing was a good bit of fun. It probably had a lot to do with how he'd turned the whole thing into a game; that, and Vic choosing to play as well. He was thinking of feeding her a few other clues just to try and throw off her timeline. That idea seemed like a lot of fun too.

First, however, Ted needed to make sure that Kalil and Maira were on board with a proposal at their wedding.

He'd texted Kalil an afternoon three weeks before their wedding to make sure he could drop by that evening. When Kalil responded yes, Ted drove straight to their flat after work with excitement building in his chest.

"Hey mate," Kalil let him inside, "What did you need to talk about."

Maira came up behind Kalil and pulled Ted into a quick hug as he tried to kick off his shoes.

"You may not move in with us." She teased as she released him.

"Well, there goes that plan, I guess I'll just show myself out then," Ted smirked at the laugh he pulled out of two of his oldest friends.

"Come sit down," Maira led them to the couch, "Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm good, thanks," Ted claimed his favorite spot on the couch that Kalil had taken with him when the two moved out of their shared flat. "I wanted to ask a small favor on your wedding day?"

"I'm not naming our first child Edward," Kalil smirked at him.

"That's alright, I don't think that just anyone can handle a name like Edward."

"Will you get to the point, Ted?" Maira sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"I was, but your fiancé distracted me."

"Why do you think I always beat you at Mario Kart?" Kalil grinned.

"Darling, shush," Maira kicked at Kalil's foot. "Out with it, Ted."

"It's nothing huge, Maira, I just was hoping you two would be alright if I were to propose to Vic at your wedding.

"Seriously?" Kalil shouted before slapping Ted on the back. "Congrats mate!"

Maira moved to give him another hug as she squealed. "Of course, you can propose to her at our wedding! Oh, Ted, this is going to be so wonderful!"

Ted took a moment to compose himself. He hadn't counted on their reaction being so moving to him. It was all dreams and games up to this point, but with his two friends getting ready for their wedding in just a few weeks, and their overwhelming support to give a piece of the best day of their life thus far to him, Ted found his eyes were suddenly watering a small bit.

"So, er, can I get an idea of how things are going to move on your big day?" Ted cleared his throat and blinked the excess moisture from his eyes.

"Mai has all that info, right babe?"

"On it," Maira jumped up and moved down the corridor, returning with her tablet in hand.

"First is the ceremony, then we have dinner, and then the reception, I think that would probably be the best time to do it."

"What's your reception look like?" Ted leant closer to look at the document.

"Our first dance," Maira pointed to the screen, "then dancing for an hour while we mingle, and then cake cutting, more dancing, and then Kalil and I get to leave."

"My favorite part," Kalil smirked at Ted while Maira rolled her eyes.

Ted looked at the screen as he tried to think his way through this.

"How do you feel if I propose after your first dance? You could ask the DJ to give me a minute before he turns the music back on, and I could propose, and then we'd have the whole reception to celebrate with you."

"I think it's perfect!" Maira smiled so wide Ted wondered if her face hurt from the effort. "We could even have him play a song you and Vic really like first!"

Ted nodded, "Yeah, yeah, let's do that, I'll figure out what the right song would be and let you know."

Maira squealed happily and gripped Kalil's arm. "I'm so excited for this!"

"Sure, be excited about our friend proposing, forget that you'll be my wife, that's completely secondary." Kalil gave his arm a playful shake to free himself from her grip. But Maira just held on tighter and kissed him instead.

"I'll be your wife forever; I only get to see so many of our friends propose."

"She'll forget about me and Vic the moment you get her out of the reception," Ted consoled his best friend. "If you'd like, you can come and propose to Maira again at my wedding."

Kalil laughed, "Nah, proposing once was quite enough for me, thanks all the same."

"Spoilsport," Maira teased.

Ted smiled, they had it all figured out. Everything was ready, and in place, the only thing left to do was to wait.

Thankfully the days moved quickly, and before he knew it, Ted was driving to pick up Vic for the wedding.

Being in the wedding party, he had to be there before the ceremony to be a part of the pictures. He had needed to approach that problem carefully, as he really didn't want him and Vic to be in separate cars when they left the wedding reception. But Vic thought that being there early would be fine, and she readily agreed to have him pick her up in time for Ted to be in the wedding party photos. If he hadn't been so relieved, he would have been suspicious.

Ted pulled up to the Weasley's home and turned off his car. He looked at the glove box and smiled as he unlocked it and pulled out the ring.

"Well, my friend, tonight's the night." He opened the box and smiled. Tonight, it would be on her hand. Tonight, he wouldn't systematically check to make sure the glove box was shut and locked when he went up to his flat. Tonight, everything he'd been working towards would come together in what he hoped would be the greatest day of her life thus far. He slid the box in his pocket and moved to collect Vic.

Ted knocked on the Weasley's door and straightened his tie. But when Vic opened the door his hands fell from his neckline and he forgot how to breathe.

Ted had seen Vic get dressed up before. He'd taken her to different places that had required more than jeans and a t-shirt. But he'd never seen her in anything like this.

She looked like she should be walking out of a Hollywood red carpet event, not a small house on the seashore. Her hair was in curls and pulled back slightly, making her blue eyes the center focus. And her blue dress seemed to make the blue in her eyes pop like a photo app filter.

"Wow."

"Do you like it?" Vic bit her lip and moved one of her blonde curls back over her shoulder.

"You're beautiful."

Ted pulled her into him and felt the first bout of nerves that day over what he had planned. Vic was amazing, and she looked like a movie star, was everything he had planned tonight really enough?

"We should get going," Vic smiled up at him. "We don't want to keep Kalil and Maira waiting on you."

"Right," Ted sighed and reluctantly released his hold around her, opting to take her hand as they moved to his car.

Ted was glad that Vic was excited, she talked when she was excited, and he didn't know if he could manage to be the carrier of their conversations at that moment. He hadn't expected to be this nervous. She was going to say yes, logically he knew that. She wouldn't have played that she might ask him first if she wasn't going to say yes when he asked. But the irrational side of Ted's mind was apparently not listening. His palms were damp and they hadn't even made it to the pictures. Ted casually checked the time on his dashboard and had to suppress his groan. He still had three hours to go.

"You ok?" Vic put her hand on his thigh as Ted maneuvered the car into a parking spot.

Ted killed the engine and turned to look at her. She was smiling at him like the sun, her face full of excitement and love and just, everything.

He almost asked her right there, but somehow, he reeled himself in before he could ruin all his well-laid plans.

"Yeah, just, I can't believe that they're finally getting married. I've known them for most of university, and they've been something of an institution. This day more or less cements how far we've all come."

Vic leant forward and kissed him softly. "And it's going to be perfect."

She couldn't know how much her simple statement had given him a little bit of calm in the storm of nerves he was currently fighting. That was a big part of what he loved about her, she was always the calm in whatever storm he was in, even back when she had been with Sean, the moments with just her were what got him through it more than anything else he'd tried during those difficult months. Now, she was the calm that was getting him through the nerves he felt at asking her to be his forever.

They climbed out of the car and Kalil spotted them, calling them over in the middle of the photographer trying to take a picture, for which Maira gave his chest a light smack, making everyone laugh. Ted watched the photographer get the candid shot and was pretty sure that Maira would probably prefer that image to the majority of the lot they'd get today.

"We're so glad you're here!" Maira hugged them as she and Kalil met them halfway between the parking lot and where the rest of the wedding party was gathered. "You look amazing!" Maira adjusted one of Vic's golden curls.

"Thanks," Vic's smile was wide, "My sister helped me get ready. She's really good at this stuff."

"I'd say," Ted kissed her cheek.

The photographer suggested that they keep going with the pictures when Maira grabbed Vic's hand. "Come be in one with us!"

Vic blinked, "Are you sure, I don't want to impose, I only came early so Ted and I didn't need to bring two cars."

"Yes!" Maira gave her hand a firm tug, "I want a few pictures with the four of us. We've got plenty of time to do some with the four of us, and you look gorgeous, you have to get some pictures of you looking like this!"

Ted gave Vic's other hand a tug, "Come on, Vic, you know you want to."

"Oh, alright," Vic laughed as she gave in and they started to follow the bride and groom to where the photographer was wanting to position them.

"Ted!"

Ted turned around and smiled when he saw Nicki, her magenta bridesmaid dress causing the green streaks in her hair to pop like pieces of candy.

"Hey, Nicki!" He pulled Vic back and into his side as Nicki caught up.

"Vic, this is Nicki, she's a friend of Mai's and subsequently mine and Kalil's too. Nicki, this is my Victoire."

"I heard you'd started dating someone. It's nice to meet you, Victoire." Nicki held out her hand to Vic.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," Vic shook her hand and then bit her lip, "And thank you for being a good friend to Ted."

Ted was momentarily surprised. He'd told Vic about Nicki, about how things had worked out for the best between them, but he'd played this introduction so that she wouldn't need to visit that part of their past today. Another day, maybe he'd have done it differently, but today needed to be perfect. Apparently, Vic had come a lot further than he'd realized.

Nicki raised her eyebrows at Ted and then chuckled as she addressed Vic.

"I'm glad you two found your way back to each other."

Nicki's phone rang and she pulled it out to silence it but stopped.

"Sorry, this is my date," she apologized as she stepped away to take the call. Ted could have sworn he heard her say the name Kevin when she answered. He wondered if it was Kevin from marketing where she worked...

"That was really cool of you," Ted kissed Vic's cheek.

"Yeah, well it was really cool of her to let you go while I figured myself out." Vic kissed his lips, long and sweet.

"Ted!" Maira's voice intruded on their stolen moment. "Don't ruin her make-up before she's been in the pictures!"

The photos of the four of them and the wedding party photos didn't take very long and Ted found himself standing with his arms around Vic as they waited just a bit longer before separating for the ceremony.

"This is nice," she looked up at him and smiled. "I'm glad I came early with you instead of coming in my own car."

"Me too," Ted kissed her and again felt the overwhelming desire to ask her then and there.

It was a beautiful day and it was peaceful in this little secluded corner they'd found. It felt like them, this stolen solitude. It felt right. But he'd put so much effort into planning this out, and Kalil and Maira had too. He was pretty sure that they'd kill him if he simply couldn't contain himself and proposed after going through all the effort to plan an elaborate proposal with them.

He needed to distract himself. He needed to redirect his train of thought. And his answer came in the DJ turning on music while she finished setting up.

Ted turned Vic around and started to spin her around in their little corner in time to the music.

Vic laughed as he moved them through the song. "See, I knew you were pulling my leg. You can dance!"

Ted kissed her as he dipped her back into a small dip. "I'm full of surprises."

They only ended up having time to dance that one song before Kalil cut in to get Ted to his place and Vic moved to take her seat.

"You doing alright?" Ted asked his friend as he stood to his left and looked out over the guests. His eyes landed on Vic and he smiled as she gave him a little wave.

"Yeah, er, just, a bit nervous, you know?" Kalil shoved his hands in his pockets before pulling them back out and clasping his hands behind him.

"Don't think about the rest of us, mate. Just focus on her, you'll be fine."

"Right," Kalil gave him a grateful smile. "Are you all set for later?"

"Yep," Ted rubbed the back of his neck. "I won't lie, I've been tempted to throw the plan out and just ask her a few times today already."

"Hold strong, mate, you've planned something pretty big, don't waste it."

Ted laughed, "Don't worry, I've got enough self-control for this."

"I'd hope so, you managed to wait for her to make her way back to you. You've got the patience of a saint."

Ted went to respond, but the music began and Maira stepped out. Ted didn't waste his breath, Kalil wouldn't have heard him anyway.

The ceremony wasn't long and soon Ted was again back with Vic as they ate dinner. Dinner seemed to fly as Ted's nerves started to build up and gain momentum. This was it. He was within an hour of proposing. His chest felt like it was filled with electricity and his hands were sweating.

"Are you alright?" Vic looked at him concerned.

"Yeah," Ted tried to chuckle. "I'm great."

Vic gave him a shy smile and squeezed his hand. "Good."

They moved from dinner to the reception area and Ted kept Vic close to his side as they waited for Kalil and Maira to come in and dance their first dance.

"She's beautiful," Vic whispered as the happy couple took the dance floor.

"You're beautiful," Ted murmured close to her ear.

They watched quietly while Kalil and Maira spun around the floor and as the song started to come to an end Ted pulled Vic closer.

"Hey," he turned her to face him. "I…"

But before he could continue Ted heard a woman cry out on the other side of the dance room. He glanced over and resisted the urge to start swearing. Some other wedding guest was currently on one knee before the woman Ted assumed had cried out.

Shite.

There was a moment where the man spoke and then the woman gave him a teary nod. And that was that. Everything Ted had worked for months to prepare was gone.

And Ted wanted to pummel the stranger who had stolen it all out from under him.


	18. Chapter 18

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Not after all the work he went through to put this together.

But it was happening. And as the wedding guests cheered for this random village idiot, Ted wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp.

"Hey mate," Kalil was at his side, grabbing hold of his arm and tugging him away, "can you lend me a hand with something?" Kalil looked over at Vic, "I promise to bring your boyfriend back in a jiffy."

"Sure," Vic's voice was a bit off, but Ted couldn't pull himself out of his own despondent state enough to be able to focus on it.

He followed Kalil as his friend pulled him by the elbow over to where Maira was standing in an uncrowded part of the room.

"It'll be alright," Maira squeezed his hand. "We can find another spot that would work just as well."

"No," Ted shook his head. "That jack-wad ruined everything, I won't be the sloppy follow up to a third-rate performer. I'm not proposing tonight, I'll figure something else out. Thanks for trying you two, I'm sorry it disintegrated on us."

"You're still going to ask her, right?" Kalil put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Of course, I am!" Ted huffed and resisted the urge to punch the wall. "Just, not like this. Not now."

Maira gave him a hug and when she pulled back, he saw tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Ted, that man is someone my dad works with and invited. I had no idea, I'm so sorry."

Ted let out a long breath, "It isn't your fault, Mai. I just, yeah." He turned to Kalil. "Thanks for saving me. I think I can go back to Vic with my head in reality again."

"Any time, mate, and if you need to head out, we won't be offended. You do what you need to do for you and Vic, alright?"

Ted pulled his best mate into a hug, "Thanks."

He gave them one last attempt at a smile and then turned back to where Vic was still standing, and she was staring daggers at the man who had proposed not five minutes ago. She looked as angry as he felt, and Ted was pretty sure he knew why.

Ted moved to her and took her hand.

"You knew."

Vic's eyes went huge and she looked down at her shoes. "I don't think I know what you're talking about."

He ran a hand over his face, "Why don't we step out for a bit, I think there's a lot to talk about."

Vic looked up long enough to nod at him, but her eyes moved to the floor again as they maneuvered through the crowd to outside the reception hall.

"Vic," Ted moved them to sit on a bench he'd found, "You don't need to play dumb. I saw the way you were looking at the man that proposed. You knew I was going to ask you tonight, didn't you?"

Vic shook her head, "I didn't know, I hoped you would though. Your clues, and the way you were acting leading up to today, I just, I wanted it to be tonight. And once I wanted it to be tonight, well I sort of started making it that way in my mind. Hence the new dress and making Dominique help do my hair and make-up tonight. I wanted to look amazing."

"You look gorgeous," Ted kissed her hand.

Vic's smile didn't meet her eyes, "I, I should tell you there's one other thing that made me think you'd ask me tonight."

Ted frowned, "What?"

"I found the ring box. When I went to get my purse, while you were meeting my family, the strap caught between the dash and the glove box, and I had to unlock it to get it unstuck. I didn't open it!" She hurried on, "But tonight was the first thing I thought of when I started thinking about when you might ask."

Ted gave a hollow chuckle, "And here I thought I'd managed to take you totally by surprise."

"Ted, just because I suspected it didn't make it any less amazing. I've never been this excited before. I kept going over and over again the different ways you might do it and how you might say it. I still would have been surprised because I didn't know what you'd say or how you'd go about it."

"The worst part is that I almost asked you three different times today." Ted shook his head. "I almost threw the plan out the window and just did it because the moment felt right. But I was an idiot and I didn't and now it's all ruined because one prig couldn't bother to clear a proposal with the bride and groom first."

"Kalil and Maira knew?" Vic smiled.

"Yep," Ted kicked his feet out in front of him. "Helped me plan it out and everything. Figured I'd do the polite thing and get their blessing to use their wedding as my proposal setting."

"You're a better man than that toe-rag then." Vic took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"A better man who didn't get the proposal he'd worked months to prepare." He wanted to pummel something.

"It doesn't have to be anything big and grand," Vic bumped his shoulder. "I just want to be yours."

"But you deserve more than that, love," Ted shook his head. "You deserve something that sweeps you off your feet. Something that shows you exactly how much I love you, how important you are to me."

Vic's free hand moved to his face and Ted looked over at her in time for her lips to capture his. Her kiss was soft, reassuring, and Ted let it be his balm in the midst of this huge disappointment.

"You might think I deserve some amazing proposal, but all I want is to be yours, and I don't care how we get there."

Ted pulled her close and held her against his chest. Vic was everything, and he realized that she was everything because he wanted the same end result as she did. He wanted to face life with her by his side, regardless of the curve balls life would throw at them and the loose rock that would try and trip them up, he wanted Vic by his side through all of it.

But he wasn't going to ask tonight. He wasn't going to mar their engagement with all the anger and frustration he felt towards a complete stranger. He'd calm down first, plan something new, and then he'd propose.

"I'm going to ask you to marry me, but not tonight." He moved his thumb over her ring finger. "I'm not going to start our engagement angry at an arsehole that ruined my plans."

"I understand," Vic squeezed his hand. "I'm pretty upset with him too."

"If I show you your ring, will you promise not to beat me to proposing?"

Vic laughed, "I won't ask, and you don't need to show it to me. I don't want to see it until I can keep it."

"Fair enough," Ted pulled her into him as they looked out at the twilight settling around them.

"Do you want to go back inside?" Vic asked after they'd sat in silence for a while.

"Think we can avoid the berk for the rest of the night?" Ted laughed.

"Yeah," Vic smirked, "And I'm sure he's a shite dancer, he might have stolen your plans, but he definitely can't show you up on the dance floor."

"You want to take a turn around the dance floor to prove the idiot is an upstart?"

"Yes. Will you butcher Hamlet's love letters for me while you're at it?" Vic moved her lips to speak against his.

"I'll butcher Shakespear quotes for you all night if you'd like." Ted captured her lips and for the first time since his plans had been completely foiled, he felt the briefest glimmer of hope. It hadn't ended the way he wanted it to, but he still had Vic, and as long as he still had her, he was better off than every sod in England.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ted and Vic spent that weekend together, and Ted didn't bother to lock the ring in his glove box. It sat on his chest of drawers now, in plain sight of the woman he bought it for.

It had all unraveled on him, his weeks of well-laid plans had ended up being for nothing. But spending the weekend with Vic seemed to assuage the major blow to his ego and Ted walked into work on Monday morning feeling almost back to normal.

That came with the caveat that he was now having a hard time focusing on anything that didn't involve planning his next proposal. He tried valiantly to set it aside until later that evening, to focus on his work and the here and now, but not even two hours into the day, it was starting to show that he was failing at it.

"Are you alright, Ted?" Ron stepped into Ted's office. How that man remained CEO of two companies baffled Ted, but it was nice to have the familiar face around for the half the week Ron was at their building.

"Er, yeah," Ted nodded, but Ron still looked concerned.

"You haven't responded to my meeting invite from this morning yet."

Ted panicked. "Sorry! I thought I hit accept!" He immediately turned to his monitor, opened Ron's email, and hit accept on the meeting invite.

Ron came and sat opposite him. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, sorry, my personal life is trying to distract me today. I'll get it in check."

Ron shook his head. "Ted, you're family. Your godfather is my brother, which as far as I'm concerned makes you my nephew. Do you want to talk about what's going on?"

Ted blinked. He sometimes forgot that Ron saw him as family, not as an employee.

"I'd appreciate it if this didn't leave the two of us," Ted took a deep breath, "I'm trying to work out how to propose to Victoire."

Ron grinned and held out his hand. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Ted grinned as he shook Ron's had, "I'm sorry it's taking over my brain."

"Sounds like you might be antsy to get on with it if you're that preoccupied over it."

"Maybe you're right," Ted mused over the comment and chuckled. "To be honest, I've been a bit preoccupied with Vic since I met her."

Ron laughed, "Well if you need to take any time off to make this happen, let me know. I'm sure we can manage without you for a little bit."

"Thanks, Ron," Ted smiled, "I'll get back to it."

"Good man," Ron nodded and headed back to his office.

Ted however leant back in his desk chair, mulling over Ron's comment. It sort of made sense, that he wanted to get on with proposing to Vic. He'd been waiting to do it since he met her, really; he'd waited for over a year now. He waited for her to leave Sean. He waited for her to come back to him. He waited for her to say she loved him back. And then he'd waited so he could set up the perfect proposal. He'd been patient. And he realized he was tired of waiting. He wanted to get on with their lives. He wanted to wake up to her every day. He wanted to introduce his wife, not his girlfriend. Ted wanted to stop waiting, he wanted to start moving forward in long strides through life, with Vic by his side.

His eye caught the bright blue of Vic's sticky note on their "antique time stamp machine" sign and an idea started to form. He'd first flirted with her, first fallen for her, first kissed her, first told her he loved her, all in an office. You might even say he had set a precedent.

Ted sent a quick message to Ron to let him know he'd be out for the next few hours before grabbing his blazer and heading out the door.

His first stop was his flat since like an idiot he'd stopped keeping the ring in his glove box. He contemplated swinging by a florist on his way to her office, but he decided against it. He didn't have that much time, and he reasoned if he showed up with flowers, she would realize what he was up to. That wouldn't do, after all, he'd promised her she'd never see it coming.

A part of Ted was aware that he was flying by the seat of his pants in all this but he was afraid he'd lose his momentum if he stopped and thought it all the way through. He had no idea what he was doing, just what the end result needed to be. And so, he found himself in the elevator of Vic's office building with trembling hands as he had the first moment of silence to consider how off the cuff this whole thing had been. But he was committed now, no matter how nervous he felt, this was it.

"Good morning," the receptionist smiled at him. "How can I help you?"

"I'm just hoping to surprise my girlfriend, Victoire Weasley, and take her out for an early lunch." Ted lied. This stranger didn't need to know what he was really doing.

"Oh, that's nice of you. Do you know where her office is?"

"Yeah, alright if I just step back and collect her?" Ted actually had a very minimal idea of where Vic was, but he really didn't want this woman to take him back to her.

The lady smiled and nodded him toward the door to her right. "Off you go, then."

Grateful for a clue as to where to start, Ted tried to reason his way through this next bit. The logical part of his brain said to simply ask someone, but he wasn't listening to the logical side of his brain. He wanted to surprise her, and that meant he couldn't risk any well-meaning individual trying to be helpful and show him the way. There were cubicles everywhere and Ted tried to put on the air of a man who knew where he was going. As long as he looked confident, he reasoned that no one would have reason to suspect him of being a lost little puppy in need of help. He moved through the maze of cubicles and tried to listen for any clues that might tell him where he ought to go. He realized a lot of these cubicles' occupants weren't present and he briefly started to worry there was some department-wide meeting Vic might currently be in.

With that thought plaguing him, Ted was almost ready to grab his phone and text her when by chance he saw that one of the main offices against the wall listed Emmeline Vance as its occupant.

 _Bingo._ Vic had to be close to her boss' office, right?

Ted turned to survey the surrounding cubicles, still mostly empty, and tried to keep from cheering aloud when he caught sight of Vic's golden hair.

Fate was looking out for him.

 _Or not_ , he thought as his nerves hit him full-blast. But Ted had a habit of seeing things through, even if he might be doing something foolish. So, he commanded his feet to move.

"Hey," He leant up against the opening of her cubicle, trying to gain the physical support from it more than the nonchalant air that it gave him.

Vic spun in her desk chair and cried out. "Ted! What? How did you find your way back here?"

Ted felt like his throat was closing up he was so nervous. So instead of answering her, he stepped up next to her and knelt on one knee.

"What are you doing?" Vic's eyes were the size of saucers.

"I'm not waiting anymore," Ted pulled the ring from his pocket and opened it. "Vic, will you marry me?"

Vic's mouth dropped open and her hands moved to her face in the same instant. "Oh my gosh!"

"Well?" Ted felt his nerves trying to push out in laughter.

Vic's head nodded as she tried to find her voice, but Ted didn't give her any more time to find it. He pressed up and caught her lips with his as his elation shoved all the nervousness he'd felt out through his shoes and filled him with a sense of relief and excitement. He poured all of those feelings into his kiss, keeping her as close as he could and being spurred on by the way she tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him to her.

"Did you want to grab lunch with me?" Ted slowed them a bit, realizing that while Ron might have protected Vic from being fired for snogging in the office, Emmeline might not be so lenient.

"I want to run away and elope with you!" Vic laughed. "But I'll settle for lunch." She kissed him again and Ted resisted the urge to deepen it.

"Right now, I'll settle for getting you out of this office." Ted chuckled and pulled the ring from its box before grabbing Vic's hand and sliding it on her finger.

Vic smiled down at her hand. "Yeah, let's get out of here. I think I can get away with a bit of a long lunch today."

Ted stole one more kiss, a long lunch sounded exactly like what they needed right now.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are the last two chapters, my friends. I hope you've loved this journey as much as I have.

Vic couldn't help the giddy feeling she had as she shut down her work computer. It had been a whirlwind of six months but she and Ted had taken his comment about being done waiting to heart. He probably would have eloped with her if she'd been serious when she'd made the comment after his proposing. But Vic admitted that she did want a wedding, and Ted had been fully supportive, he simply asked for a short engagement. She didn't miss the irony. She'd gone from an engagement with a man who wanted to wait years for a wedding to a man who wanted to elope with her the same hour he proposed.

But Vic worried that everything was moving in fast forward as they closed in on their wedding date. She was glad they took pictures at her dress fitting because just five months later she was already straining to remember how it had gone, the flutter in her chest when she'd found the dress, the way her mum's eyes had filled with tears, and Dominique's commentary on every dress and whether or not Ted would faint dead away when he saw her. Vic couldn't remember the other flavors of cake they had tried. She couldn't remember the other venues they had looked at. There were dozens of little things that Vic couldn't remember, and she couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't because they were doing everything so quickly.

"What am I going to do without you for two weeks?" Emmeline stepped up to Vic's cubicle.

Vic laughed and grabbed her bag. "I'm sure you'll be fine. The real question is how I'll ever catch up when I get back."

Emmeline smirked, "I'm sure you'll be fine." She echoed.

Vic laughed, "We'll both be fine, but I've got a lot to get done for Saturday so I'll be off."

"Have fun!" Emmeline gave her arm a squeeze as she stepped towards the exit.

"Thanks! I'll see you in two weeks!"

Vic left and while a part of her was still fretting about how fast everything was going, she had to admit that she was excited to finally be at this point. She was getting married! She gave in to the giddiness that was bubbling inside of her as she drove home, turning her car radio up horrendously loud and laughing and dancing as she drove home to Teddy.

That had happened quickly after his proposal too. Ted had almost pleaded with her to come home to his flat that Monday and she honestly hadn't resisted all that much. She had insisted that they tell her family that evening, if for no other reason than to get her a change of work clothes for the next day. Ted had taken that thought and ran with it, trying to pack up her entire wardrobe when he'd followed her up to her bedroom. It had taken some quick talking but Vic had managed to convince Ted to wait to move her in till that weekend. He'd still woke her up at five in the morning to get started that Saturday. While she hadn't loved the early morning wake up call, it was nice to have him so excited to have her with him. She rather enjoyed the feeling of being wanted.

The juxtaposition was almost laughable. The wedding planning she had done with Sean had seemed to move like molasses, but with Ted it was lightspeed. Vic was grateful that she'd finished the rewrite of her novel and her first round of query letters before Ted had proposed. She didn't feel like she was slacking off on her book knowing that she was waiting for responses, and it gave her all the time she needed to plan her wedding in a hurry. After their honeymoon, Vic planned on sending out the next round of queries. She felt hopeful that it would go somewhere. She had two different agents ask for the full manuscript, one turned her down, the other had gone radio silent. But Vic was trying to look at it as a good thing. At least she knew her book wasn't awful.

She turned her key in the door and as she walked into their flat Ted caught her round the middle and kissed her, pressing her into the door as it closed behind her.

"I can't believe you worked a full day today." Ted murmured against her lips. "I've been going insane waiting for you."

Vic laughed and dropped her bag to the floor to link her arms behind his neck. "You do realize that I don't work for my uncle anymore, right?"

"Of course, I do," Ted chuckled and kissed her, "but Emmeline told you that she'd give you today as well, and you told her no."

"Yeah, because I'm a good employee." She grinned against him.

"You're far more than good, love."

"And we have a lot to get done tonight, so we should maybe start thinking of getting on with it."

"Can't resist me, eh?"

Vic laughed and gave the hair at the nape of his neck a gentle tug.

"You're ridiculous!"

"And you're going to marry me tomorrow." Ted nuzzled her face with his.

"Only if we get these last things done."

"So torturous."

Vic eased out of his embrace, "We'll have two weeks of this, love, don't worry."

Ted took her hand and brought her knuckles to his lips, "Alright, to work with us."

It didn't take that long to get the last few things on her list done, the most important of which being packing for their honeymoon. One of the benefits of doing a fast wedding was that Vic was able to convince her mum to keep things small as well. She'd introduced her parents to _Le Chocolat Expatrié_ and the Rousseau's had been more than willing to cater a small reception. Madame Rousseau had even decided to create a chocolate, special for the occasion. Their wedding wouldn't be as grand or as big as Kalil and Maira's had been, but it would have their family and their friends and that was all Vic really wanted.

They were finishing up the last of her list when her phone started ringing and distracted by what Ted was saying, she answered without bothering to see who was calling.

"Hello, this is Victoire."

"Hi Victoire, this is Jessie Campoli, I requested your full manuscript a month or so ago."

Vic felt the air rush out of her and she shot her hand out to grip the kitchen table in front of her.

"Er, yes, hello."

Ted's whole demeanor changed and he put a concerned hand on her arm as she gripped the table. Vic bit her lip and tried to smile through her nerves.

"I was calling to offer to be your agent, and that I have a publisher interested in having the full manuscript as soon as possible. They would love to have it ready for summer if we can manage it."

"Oh my gosh! Yes! I mean, thank you!"

Jessie laughed. "Could you meet with me on Monday and we can get everything signed and sorted?"

Vic felt her smile falter. "I, er, I'm actually getting married tomorrow and leaving for my honeymoon on Sunday morning."

"Oh, well congratulations! I, hmm, I do have time this evening. Would you have time to get it sorted tonight and then I could send your manuscript to the publisher first thing Monday morning?"

Vic looked up at Ted, who was looking at her with confusion written all over his face.

"Yes, I could meet you tonight and get signed on with you as my literary agent."

Ted's mouth dropped to the floor before jumping from the table and grabbing his car keys.

"Excellent," Jessie sounded relieved and they coordinated where to meet before disconnecting the call.

"I told you!" Ted picked her up and spun her around as she tried to retrieve her purse. "I told you that your book was going to be huge!"

Vic laughed. "It's not signed yet, I just have an agent, not a book deal."

"An agent who wants to sign you before your wedding and honeymoon." He set her down so that she could grab her purse and slip into her shoes.

"Well, yes, but it's only so that she can send my book to the publisher first thing Monday morning; I guess we'll see what comes from it all when we get home from Italy then, won't we?"

"Bellissima," Ted pulled her back into him.

"That's the only word in Italian you know isn't it?" Vic laughed as they moved to the door.

"Of course not, I know spaghetti and pizza, and tiramisu, and cannoli, and…"

Vic cut him off with a quick kiss. "It's a good thing we have translator apps on our phones so that we can get directions to all the restaurants that will feed you spaghetti and pizza and all that."

"If we ever make it out of the hotel." Ted pushed her against the door frame and leant in.

"We'll never make it there if we don't get out the door."

Ted smirked at her before leaning in the rest of the way and kissing her slowly.

"I'll restrain myself for now then."

Vic grinned at him as he pulled away, his turquoise hair freshly dyed for tomorrow.

"Just till later tonight, yeah?"

"I'm sure I could be persuaded to indulge you in some form of celebration, because of your new agent, of course."

"Sure, the fact that I'm marrying you tomorrow has nothing to do with it."

"Nothing whatsoever," Ted laughed and opened her car's passenger door.

Getting signed on with Jessie took longer than Vic expected it to, mostly because of all the questions Vic realized she had, and then Ted's questions, and Jessie's questions for her. By the time they left the little coffee shop they'd met Jessie at, Vic was exhausted, and it was much later than she'd intended them to be up, let alone out on the town.

"How important are these last things on your list?" Ted yawned and looked at the list she'd shared with him from her phone as they walked back into their flat.

Vic looked over his arm to see the list and chuckled.

"They're not important, love."

"You sure?"

Vic kicked off her shoes and pulled her top over her head before winking at him.

"Positive."

Ted smirked at her, his hand holding up his phone dropping to his side. "So torturous."

"Come on, fiancé, let's enjoy our last night as a young engaged couple before we cross the line into an old married couple."

"Who said anything about being old? I didn't sign on for old."

Vic laughed as he followed her into the bedroom. "Don't worry love, I've noticed that the Marauder men don't seem to age much in certain aspects."

Ted grabbed her around her waist, and Vic felt her breath catch.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" He brought his hands just high enough to tease her before sliding back down to the waistline of her jeans.

Vic linked her arms behind his neck and pulled herself closer, "Only that I'm prepared to be the adult when the occasion calls for it."

"Like now?" Ted brought his lips to the hollow of her neck.

"Yeah, I'll be a consenting adult right now." She tried to laugh but sighed instead as Ted bit down on her neck.

Ted did manage a deep chuckle as he hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He moved them to their bed before laying her down.

"Good, because I believe you mentioned wanting some form of celebration tonight."

Then he kissed her.

When they were finally drifting off for the night, Ted curled around her, Vic let the giddy feeling carry off to sleep, knowing that tomorrow she would come back to this bed as Mrs. Edward Lupin.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Ma chérie," Fleur looked like she may cry as Vic stood in front of the mirror. "You are so beautiful."

"I can't believe this is happening." Vic tried to laugh but it came out more of a watery chuckle. "I can't cry." She repeated and smiled at her photographer.

"Don't worry about crying," she patted her camera, "I can fix coloring and that sort of thing when I enhance the lighting."

Vic blinked against the unwanted moisture in her eyes.

"I repeat, I can't cry."

Fleur wrapped her in a hug. "Then we must hurry to get all of the pictures done before the ceremony. If you are busy, you will be too distracted to cry."

"Who's crying?" Dominique poked her head in. "Holy gorgeous! Vic! You're stunning!"

"Thanks, Dom," Vic took a deep breath, "Let's go see if Ted agrees with you."

"If he doesn't, I'll make Dad hold him down and I'll poke out his eyes."

"Dominique!" Fleur whirled on her.

"It's just an expression, Maman, you know how crude of a language English is," Dominique smirked and skipped out the door ahead of them.

Dominique didn't need to worry though, at least Vic didn't think so. As she walked into the hall where they would be taking pictures, Ted looked up and dropped the plastic cup of water he'd been holding. Vic laughed as Remus quickly reached out and caught the cup before it emptied all its contents on the floor, and Ted's suit.

"You're marrying her," Remus gave his son's shoulder a gentle push, "The least you can do is meet her halfway."

Ted stumbled the first few steps before getting his feet in coordination with his brain.

"Vic…" her name was all he managed to say, but his hands didn't seem to need his voice's help to pull her into him.

Vic suddenly felt momentarily shy and couldn't hold his gaze. "It's alright?"

Ted chuckled, "I would have married you in my old blue t-shirt and your lounge shorts, love."

He moved in to kiss her and Vic pulled away before he could ruin her makeup.

Ted raised an eyebrow at her. "This better not become a pattern. I'm more or less set on kissing you like my life depends on it."

"Can we wait to ruin my makeup until after we've taken the pictures though?"

"So torturous," Ted kissed her carefully this time, but slow enough that Vic was breathless when he pulled back.

"Let's get all these public memories over with," Ted smirked down at her. "I'm anxious to get on to the more private ones."

That was the last slow moment of the day. Pictures were a blur. Even walking down the aisle when she thought back on it seemed to move in fast forward. Reading her vows and listening to Ted's were moments she'd always cherish, but they seemed to be over before she could really enjoy them. Jamie and Al coordinating with Luis for a recreation of a dance from a television show wedding seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. Her father-daughter dance seemed to start and end the moment her dad took her hand. Everything was over before she was ready for it.

"Wait!" She gripped Ted's arm as he went to lead her out to the hall for their grand exit.

"What? What's wrong?" Ted looked around them.

"I just, I need, it's all going so fast, I want to remember something!" She knew she was being ridiculous, but her wedding only would happen once, and she already felt like she was forgetting everything from the day.

Ted pulled her into his arms, his right hand coming up to caress her cheek.

"I can wait a moment, I mean, I waited almost a year to be your boyfriend, didn't I?"

"I'm sorry, I know it's silly, but it's our wedding Ted! What if I forget everything before we even get home from Italy?"

"Hey," his hand slid from her cheek to her neck and her shoulder, "It's our wedding, you're not going to forget it all, but even if you did, as long as we keep choosing each other every day, that's what matters, right?"

"I know, and you're right, I just," she smiled up at him, "I'm only getting married once. I want to remember as much of it as I can."

Ted pulled her in and kissed her, his hands wrapping around her waist to press into her back, his lips caressing hers before sliding his tongue gently into her mouth, one hand sliding up her back to press against the back of her neck.

"Remember this," He murmured against her before pressing his lips back into hers.

And for the rest of her life, she did remember that one moment, that one kiss, with the man who had loved her since he first laid eyes on her.


	20. Epilogue

Victoire laughed as Ted fell over with Johnny and Andy climbing on top of him.

"Careful with your father, you two."

"Get him!" Johnny cheered to his sister as they pulled on Ted's shirt.

"They're alright," Ted laughed and looked up at her with the twinkle in his eye that seemed to only grow brighter in the decade they'd been married. "They aren't nearly as rough as you are."

Vic glared at him before gesturing to their children. "Little ears!"

Ted smirked, "Yes, they do have little ears, I suspect their ears will grow along with their heads and their arms and their legs and their feet. We can hope that they'll stop when they get to the proper sizes and shapes though."

Vic shook her head and went back to her laptop. She had a deadline for her fifth novel to meet.

"Come, my little minions," Ted stood, both kids hanging off of his shirt and arms, his turquoise hair a right mess - Vic pointedly ignored its allure. "Let's leave Mummy to finish her work. She's going to pay for our next grand adventure with this book."

"Are we going on a trip?" Andy jumped next to Vic on the couch.

"I don't know, ma chérie," Vic laughed and looked at Ted. "Daddy seems to think we are though."

"I want to go on a trip, Daddy!" Johnny struggled to climb up Ted's back to his shoulders.

Ted grimaced as Johnny accidentally gripped his hair.

"Don't worry, buddy," Ted guided Johnny to his shoulders. "If Mum's book is a flop, I'm sure we can scrape up a few pounds to go see the White Cliffs of Dover."

"Again?" Johnny groaned. "I don't want to go see the white rocks again!"

"Spoiled, aren't we?" Ted laughed and swung Johnny back down to the floor.

"You were taking them out?" Vic looked up at Ted and chuckled as Andy tried to sit on her lap, attempting to slide her feet under the laptop already on Vic's lap.

"Let's go see about a turn around the street, I'm sure we can find our way to the playground." Ted scooped Andy up from Vic's lap.

"I want to go to the playground!" Johnny went bolting for his shoes.

"Would an hour be long enough?" Ted set Andy down to run for her own shoes.

"Yes, thank you," Vic moved her computer to stand up and kiss him.

Ted pulled her into him, deepening the kiss as his hands pressed into her back.

"Four hours," He murmured against her. "Four hours and they'll be asleep in their rooms."

Vic bit lightly down on his lip. "I guess I better get a move on and finish my read through to send this off. Then we can enjoy ourselves tonight."

"Hurry it up, won't you?" One of Ted's hands slid from her back to her chest.

"Daddy, help! My laces are stuck!" Andy's voice wailed from down the corridor.

"Duty calls," Ted kissed her once more before moving down the corridor to help their daughter with her shoes.

Vic waved them out the door and sat down with her laptop again. She'd been so worried that everything in their lives was going too fast, but in the last ten years, she'd learned that life moved quickly when you were with people you loved. She took pictures in excess, and that seemed to help stay the passage of time a small amount. But it didn't matter how much she tried to hold on to the little moments, their vacations ended, their children kept growing - something to do with feeding them she understood - and their lives moved forward.

Life moved on, and Vic had learned to look forward a bit more, to enjoy the moments as they happened, and to smile toward the future. And with that thought in mind, she went back to her manuscript. If it did half as well as the first four, maybe this time they'd take the kids back to Italy, or maybe just she and Ted would go again. While some memories could be captured in pictures, others could only be recreated, to make memories just as good as the originals.

Fin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so this little story comes to an end, my friends. To all who read along as it posted, and to all who come and read now that it's completed, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! I hope you've fallen in love with these two the way I have.


End file.
